Stille Nacht
by FredericusRed
Summary: A pirates life is hardly uneventful. After the Grand Cross incident and her graduation Marika is immediately thrown into another adventure after meeting a peculiar individual. The crew of the Bentenmaru embark on a grand adventure as they seek a treasure hidden by the Original Seven over 100 years ago.
1. Prologue

The dull glow of the hologram was the only light in the room. Hovering above the black table a battle replayed over and over again. The massive battleship was unique in its shape and its capabilities. The twin white hulls resembled swords and where attached to each other by a bulbous shape at the hilt. Thousands upon thousands of beams fired from the beast, striking down its foes with ease. Occasionally the target would strike back trying to claim some final bits of glory, but shot and shell beam would peck harmlessly at the shield and armour. The most terrifying property was not its armament, nor its shield. A ship that size performed impossible maneuvers; zig-zagging through the deep black velvet of space. It moved like a fighter if not faster. With that ability, the twin-ship was able to unleash devastating barrages giving its prey little chance to escape.

"A battleship that can maneuver like that," said a male voice, "This clearly demonstrates that the Galactic Empire is no longer interested in allowing the frontier to maintain its autonomy, as limited as that it may be. If we do not act soon, we will become nothing more than servants to an Emperor thousands of light years away. We must press forward with our plans immediately!"

"Analysis complete: ship known as Grand Cross. Our chances of victory, near nil. Recommendation: capitulation," said a voice that was neither male nor female.

"Capitulate? You mean surrender! No, that is not an option! If conventional weapons will not serve than I propose we develop our own super weapon. Fight fire with fire!"

"Resources insufficient. Time required extensive. Projected time to super weapon completion and production in sufficient numbers: 200 years."

"This council has waited over 100 years, two hundred more is nothing!"

"We are inclined to agree with our mechanical compatriot," said a female voice, "My government supports the endeavours of this council, but waiting for a super weapon to be completed is not appealing. Since a military solution is no longer a viable option, we propose a diplomatic one. Dialogue –"

"Dialogue?! The Stellar Alliance promised dialogue and they gave us the war! What makes you think the Galactic Empire will listen? No, these barbarians only understand force!"

"Odds of diplomatic success: nil. Military success: nil. Recommendation: capitulation."

"My dear representative, while your analysis is greatly appreciated, this council simply will not capitulate. We respectfully request that the representative please propose an alternative course of action."

"Analysing."

"As I have said, force is the only way to achieve our goals! If we cannot build a super weapon, than I suggest we steal one!"

"Explain."

"Yes, dear delegate, please explain your plan."

The holographic image flickered as it changed into a star system. A massive red star was at its centre. Orbiting around were several small planets habitable for life but what drew their attention were all of the old observation posts and unmanned stations. In the empty space between planets lumbered an old ship.

"Old ship. Not valuable."

"We concur. A relic from the War of Independence is hardly worth stealing."

"Not the ship, the star. Garnet A was the last ditch effort of the Stellar Alliance. They created a supernova bomb."

The room gasped.

"Currently, Garnet A is the only one in existence. If we learn its secrets and make more of these weapons, we will be able to strike at the heart of the Empire itself. Unimaginable power means unimaginable possibilities. No one will dare challenge us."

"Dear delegate, how did you manage to learn of this weapon?"

"I have friends in the intelligence services. That is all you need to know."

"Potential destruction of supernova bomb: 30 lighters annihilated, 50 light years damaged. Supernova bomb will shift balance of power. Error: Supernova bombs banned by intergalactic conventions."

"Going against the law has never stopped us before."

"We concur with the representative. A supernova bomb is not the solution. While its destructive power may shift the balance of power in our favour, it will surely create many enemies in addition to the Galactic Empire. This council, while our goals may be noble, cannot afford both enemies with out and with in. Again, we urge this council to seek a diplomatic solution."

"Political solution: favoured. Timeline to success: indeterminate, likely very long term. In excess of 50 years."

"If we are unwilling to wait 200 years for certain victory, why should we be unwilling tolerate a delay of fifty for one that is uncertain. I call for a vote! Military or diplomacy!"

"We would like to remind the delegate that no action may be undertaken by this council unless a unanimous decision is reached."

"Then we shall remain here until a decision is reached! Soldiers, lock the doors! No one enters or leaves!"

"This is unacceptable! Forceful imprisonment of a government representative is tantamount to a declaration of war! By order of her Royal Highness, I demand you open those doors!"

"Coup d'état in progress. Probable victory with dissenters. I declare for dissenters."

"Cyborg coward! If you continue with this, my government will withdraw its support and reveal this conspiracy to the Galactic Empire!"

"You will be incriminated as well! I doubt your government will be pleased when bombs rain down on their capital! We will come to a decision tonight!"

The three groups shouted and yelled. The discussion of plans and actions was no more. It had become an insolent noise of insult and injury. None of the three would relent nor compromise. But, as they argued and bickered the hologram flickered and formed. The Grand Cross appeared again, but it was accompanied by several new images. Three Grand Crosses battled a fleet of assorted ships. As the lasers flew and the missiles soared, the super battleships fell one by one. The hologram froze, then rewound, then froze again. Over and over the reel would play unbeknownst to the three. The hologram returned to Garnet A and focused on the abandoned ship. The camera panned over the hull. The name of the ship caught the observer's eye.

"Lady and gentlemen," said a deep authoritative male voice, "I have a solution to our dilemma."

The three immediately became silent and returned to their seats.

"I have considered your arguments carefully and have determined that none of them will advance our cause with any effectiveness. Needless to say, surrender is never an option. The Supernova bomb as proposed by our more, aggressive, delegate will shift the balance of power but as you have said it will draw the ire of all parties, Empire and otherwise. Diplomacy will not suffice either. Our history clearly shows that those with power will not listen to those without. Our words will fall on deaf Imperial dog ears."

"Then what is the solution? You string words well, but you have said nothing."

"Indeed, we would like to hear your proposal."

"Our solution lies in our nature."

"Data incomplete. Request: Expand nature of plan."

"We are shadows, comrades. We are hidden in plain sight. We are vigilant watchers. We are illusions, tricks of the mind. We are the darkness. We move with purpose. We strike with fervor. We are the collapse of empires and the rise of freedom."


	2. Chapter 1

Her outfit was a size too big and her hat too small for her head. The weather was beautiful and the flowers were in full bloom. But it was far too hot to be wearing that awful thing. It was tradition however, so she had to grin and bear it. She was sweltering beneath her black clothes with the only relief coming as a spring wind.

_So hot._

"Marika Kato. I apologize. Captain Marika Kato of the Bentenmaru!"

The discomfort washed away immediately when she heard her name. With a beaming smile and her head held high she crossed the stage to meet the superintendent. The crowd cheered and applauded the local celebrity. It's been three long years in the making and a ton of hard work but she had done it. She was a waitress, and the captain of a pirate ship, and now she was a high school graduate. She took the sacred piece of parchment from the superintendent and posed for several quick photos.

"How does it feel?" asked Ririka meeting her daughter after the ceremony.

"Great!" exclaimed Marika.

Marika's light blue eyes shimmered like the waves of the tropical sea. The light pinkish-orange hair was neatly tucked away beneath her square cap and flowed freely down her back. She had a massive grin, proud of her achievement. Beneath her long black graduate robe with a golden trim was an outfit she had grown to love but would soon tuck away beneath her bed along with other fading memories. The beige jacket, the grey-blue pleated skirt, the red bow tie and the white collared shirt would all disappear never to be worn again. But its demise would not come so soon.

Ririka embraced her daughter, "So how about we celebrate with pot-au-feu?"

"That's sounds awesome" a sudden realization struck her, "But I need to do something first."

"Oh, and what's so important that you can't celebrate with your mother?" inquired Ririka.

"it's not that I can't celebrate it just that… well I kind of forgot to set the course for the Yacht Club's practice cruise, and tell the port authority our flight plan, and make the requests, and file the paperwork, and –"

"Same as always" chuckled Ririka, "Go on then. Call me when you get back and we'll go out."

"Alright!"

Marika sat in the ports master's office filling out the annoyances on a blue data pad. You would think that a world so advanced would have come up with a more efficient method of filing paperwork. She soldiered through and once she was done made her way on the Odette II to make sure everything was operational.

She floated down the pristine halls toward the critical systems. Engines were fine, navigation seemed okay, and life support was clearly functioning. All that was left was to head to the bridge and set the flight plan for the practice cruise.

"Yo-ho, yo-ho, la da da, da, da, da."

"Hey! What are you doing here?" she challenged as she drifted into the bridge.

"Woah!" cried the man throwing his hands into the air.

When he threw up his hands every single tool he was handling went up with them. His large data pad tried to escape its master's reach but alas its connection to the computer kept it prisoner. A wrench floated one way, a screw driver in another, one of those little things that measure voltage and a scanner drifted aimlessly around the bridge. The man rapidly apologized and pushed off to chase his runaway tools only to let loose several others as he went. Marika gave him a perplexed look as she bounced from place to place gathering his implements.

"Danke. Gotta be careful, they like to fly away from you," the man smiled.

He was an older man with light brown hair that started to grey on the side of his head. All over his face was a neatly trimmed beard and moustache that was more stubble than facial hair. Brown eyes and tall just like most men she met. The only defining feature, if you could call it that, was a small scar on his right cheek. It was just a nick, like something had just grazed him, but still just a nick. Dressed in dark blue overalls and wearing black cloth gloves, Marika assumed he worked on the station. But what was he doing on the Odette II?

"What are you doing here?" asked Marika with a little for friendliness.

"I'm sorry faulein. I was just doing some maintenance on this ship," he pointed to a nametag, "I'm Hans by the way. My coworkers call me 'Fumbling' Hans. But just call me Hans."

"Nice to meet you, Hans" said Marika, "But you're not supposed to be on this ship. This belongs to the yacht club and it's our job to keep it working."

"No, no, no" protested Hans, "I have my work order right here. See? Conduct minor repairs and maintenance on the vessel in Dock 05. See? It says it right here."

Marika looked at the document. He wasn't wrong but, "I hate to break it to you but this is Dock 07. See?"

Marika pulled up the station map on the Odette II's screen.

"But that doesn't make sense. The guys pointed my here and," Hans looked at the map and saw the big flashing words, "You are here. Oh man! Why do they always do this to the new guy? Five hours of work for nothing! Brilliant!"

"So you're new here?" asked Marika trying to calm him down.

"Yeah, just started a couple days ago," he said enthusiastically, "I'm Hans. 'Fum-"

"Fumbling Hans," said Marika, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Marika Kato of the Hakuoh Academy Yacht Club."

"Oh" Hans eyes widened, "So you're the owner of this ship? That's amazing for someone your age. No offense, I don't mean that young girls can't own a ship. It's just uncommon. You know?"

Marika giggled, "You're a strange fellow. Anyway, do you need help finding your way to Dock 05? I'm headed off the station soon so I can show you the way."

"Oh, thank you" he said, "But I should find my way. Bye, bye."

The man waved and started to float away toward the exit. Marika floated to the Nav Computer and began to input the practice cruise data.

_Okay, so we'll head along these coordinates and circle around the Rainbow of the Cloud Star. From there we'll –_

"Sorry, forgot my data pad" said Hans floating back, "There. Sorry. Bye, bye."

"Bye" said Marika.

_Okay, so around Rainbow of the Cloud Star and we'll use its gravity to slingshot us to End of the North Star go around and sail back home. There simple enough._

Marika tapped on the GUI interface as she inputted all the necessary data. The keys beeped and booped. Numbers and names scribbled across the screen. With a satisfying sigh everything was done.

"That's a very long cruise."

"Hans?" Marika leaned back and looked up, "I though you went to Dock 05?"

"I was but I'm kind of locked in," admitted Hans, "I… lost my key card."

_This guy is hopeless._

"Well I can help you out," said Marika, "Come on. I'll show you Dock 05 too."

"Thank you so much!"

The station's grey wide halls were completely devoid of people. Even though it was brief, it felt awkward having gravity act on you. A couple benches lined the hall with some potted plants and trees that gave the dull grey a spot of colour. Windows let in the sunlight during the day, while the shining stars greeted travellers at night. There were windows facing the interior of the station as well. All manner of ship and vessel nested in the metal boxes.

"So, you like ships?" asked Hans trying to break the silence.

"Hmm? Yes. I'm a captain actually," said Marika.

"Of the one we were on, yes? The Odette II. It's a nice ship. I wish I had something like it."

"Oh no, that's not mine" she said, "I'm Captain of the Bentenmaru."

Hans froze for a moment, "Das ist you?! I'm so honored to meet you! The Bentenmaru was one of the Original Seven, no? Is it strong? Fast? No, it must be. Of course it is."

_Wow, he's really into ships. Kind of like Ai Hoshimiya with yachts._

"So you like ships?"

"Sorry, I get a bit overenthusiastic about them," said Hans rubbing the back of his neck, "But yes. I absolutely love them. There must be nothing more free than sailing the stars aboard your own ship. I wish to own my own ship one day. Silly dream for a man my age, but it keeps me going."

"Maybe one day you will have a ship of your own. Don't give up on that dream," said Marika, "This is Dock 05 by the way. Have a nice night."

"Danke shone. I hope your practice cruise goes well. Stille Nacht, fraulein Kato" said Hans.

_Odd fellow, but a nice man. Hope everything goes well for him._

It was well into the night when she had returned home. The lights were off and there was not a sound to be heard. She stumbled and fumbled for a bit as she removed her shoes and felt around for the light switch. The wonderful smell of pot-au-feu wafted through the air enticing her inside.

*CLICK*

"SURPRISE!" cheered the party as the lights snapped on.

Party poppers burst throwing confetti and silly string into the air. Above a party ball opened releasing a long scroll that said 'Congratulations' with a rain of coloured paper. All of Marika's closest friends and family were present. The house was filled with people and the table had a delicious spread of every dish imaginable. Especially the pot-au-feu.

"Wow! This is amazing!" said Marika in awe, "Thank you everyone."

"Of course" said Misa, "We wouldn't miss our Captain's graduation. It's quite an accomplishment."

"Yeah," said Hyakume cutting a piece of cake, "Being our captain, president of the yacht club, working as a waitress, it's amazing you got through high school at all."

"Cake later," Misa slapped Hyakume's wrist, "And you graduated with honors nonetheless. If that doesn't warrant a celebration I don't know what will."

"Oh, don't worry about the cake Ms. Grandwood," said Mami with her kind smile, "I brought extra and something special too."

"Better get one quick though," said Gruier sticking a long spoon in her mouth.

Chocolate parfaits were immaculately arranged into a tall pyramid.

"Chiaki-chan? Is that you?" asked Marika with a big smile.

"Drop the chan," demanded Chiaki as she ate her parfait.

"I knew it was you, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to extend my best wishes to you" she said in her soft hard voice, "So, congratulations."

"Marika!" called Kane, "Now that you're no longer a student, we can finally finish off one of our old pirate traditions. San-Daime!"

"Coming up" called San-Daime.

San-Daime, easily recognizable by his dark green hair, shuffled through the crowd carrying a large bottle. The black glass contained an undistinguishable liquid. The label had faded away but the image of a kraken and a ship could faintly be made out on the old parchment. The cork popped off and a hard, sharp, sweet smell drifted to Marika's nose.

"Whew that's a strong smell" she exclaimed.

Kane wrapped his arm around Marika, "All you need to do is take a little swig and that's all."

Marika looked around the room. Ririka nodded in approval. She was old enough now and this was tradition. Among the old pirates it was customary to share a drink with the crew as soon as they joined up. Unfortunately, Mirika was underage when she was made captain and joined the Bentenmaru, so the tradition had to be postponed. But her birthday had passed and she was 18 now, perfectly legal for her to drink under the eyes of the law, and the tradition meant so much to pirates. Still it was a little strange to see her daughter growing up.

"So what is that bottle anyway?" Ririka asked Schnitzer.

"If I remember correctly it's a bottle of Gonzaemon's Rum. And judging by the age of the label it's probably around 25 years old or more."

"Gonzaemon's Rum?!" Ririka leaped for the bottle, "NOOO!"

It was late into the night when the party had ended. Or was it entering the morning? With all that was going on it was hard to tell the time. The sink was filled with dishes and cups. Marika and Ririka were happily cleaning away.

"You know you don't have to help me," said Ririka, "It's you've just graduated. You've earned the night off."

"I'm happy to help," said Marika, "Beside if it wasn't for you and everyone else I wouldn't be here."

"Well thank you," Ririka smiled, "So, have you given any thought to what you'll do now?"

Mirika had a puzzled look, "What do you mean? I'm Captain of the Bentenmaru."

"Well yes, there is that. And as a former pirate I am very proud of what you've done as captain" said Ririka, "But as a mother I have to let you know there are other options. Space University for example. Have you thought about that?"

Marika thought for a second, "No, I guess I haven't considered those options."

"Well you still have time," said Ririka, "But remember life is too short to try a little bit of everything. So find what you love and stick with it. Then dabble in all the rest."

"Right" said Marika.

By the time they were done washing dishes, the sun was starting to creep over the horizon. Large black circles surrounded their eyes. The two of them collapsed onto the sofa inches from falling into a deep sleep.

"Well, good night, Marika," said Ririka as she closed her eyes.

"Good night, mom," Marika woke for a brief moment, "Hey, Ririka, what does 'stille nacht' mean?"

"Hmm? It's German," said Ririka drifting away, "It means 'silent night'."

"Oh, I see" yawned Marika floating away into the endless sea of dreams.

*RIIINNNNGGG! RIIINNNGGG! RRRRIIINNNGGG!*

"Wake up, Marika."

"Just five more minutes" groaned Marika.

"Sorry, Captain, but we can't wait five minutes. Did you forget what we were doing today?"

"Yeah… we were doing some piracy on the Princess Apricot" Marika jumped to her feet, "The Princess Apricot!"

Marika bolted up the stairs and grabbed a few personal items. She ran back down the stairs with a soaking face and brushing her teeth. Hastily she put on her jacket and jumped into her shoes. She yelped a quick goodbye and sprinted out the door. Rumbling on the street waited her ride to the port: a very old vehicle that may as well be an exhibit in a museum with its square black chassis, rubber wheels, and chrome hub caps.

"Come on! Jump in!" called Misa.

Misa Grandwood, the medic with a soothing voice. Her dark red eyes gave her the look of a demoness but her soft face and ocean green lips made her an angel. She had short hair, the front half was a light blonde and the back was a light blue. The fringe of her hairstyle framed her face but, as if second nature, never fell to cover her eyes. A white coat covered her purple bodysuit which was bridged together on the sides, but only slightly. A pink belt, which matched her knee high pink boots with the gold knee caps, wrapped around her waist and the attached leather straps made it seem like she was wearing a skirt.

The car started to roll down the road as Mirika sprinted to jump inside, with toothbrush still clenched between her teeth.

"Here, grab my hand!" said Kane.

Kane McDougal is, arguably, the most laid back member of the Bentenmaru despite his important role as the ship's helmsman. The young man had light green eyes like coloured glass and scruffy, if not horrendously untidy, unkempt light brown hair. The blue and red jacket had a very tall collar and was lined with fur and far too thick for summer weather, especially since it covered a black shirt. The two lapels extended from the collar down to the mid of the jacket. The crimson cuffs extended from the wrist to the elbow and ended in a trim of golden thread. A brown belt, accompanied by a green sash, kept up his black trousers as the legs tucked away into a pair of brown boots.

Kane grabbed Mirika's hand and pulled her into the car, "Welcome aboard, Captain. Now brush your teeth."

"Here," Misa tossed a parcel into the back seat, "Make yourself presentable too."

Mirika openned the package and started to put on the clothes as the car sped down the road.

"Captain on the bridge!" announced Schnitzer, the most intimidating man on the ship, if he could be considered a man. Any trace of flesh and bone was lost beneath his metal body. His head was long and his teeth were always showing. Protruding from his head were two long thin plates that bent to the back of his skull like a pair of horns.

"Hi, captain" said Coorie the ships master of electronic warfare and junk food connoisseur. She hid her face behind a pair of thick round glasses and kept her yellow hair partly tied in a tail. What ever feminine beauty she may have (and I stress _may have_) possessed was lost beneath a baggy white shirt and equally loose fitting pink jacket with a white grid design.

"Welcome back, captain" said Hyakume, "How was the ride here?"

The man with sunken cheeks and scraggly facial hair. His knowledge about the Bentenmaru's system was second to none and as a radar operator nothing got passed him. His method of dress was haphazard consisting of random pieces he got from here and there: a tan bordering on stained shirt, a blue denim vest, brown trousers that were too short, a red headband contrasting the blue scarf, and brown fingerless gloves and a pair of brown loafers.

"I see you" said Luca in her deep mystic voice that matched her deep violet eyes. A shame one was hidden beneath a square eye patch. She gazed into a crystal ball. Her raven black hair was tied into two tails that draped over her shoulders and had a fringe that ended just above the eyes. The most highly classed woman on the Bentenmaru if I do say so myself but perhaps what was only by manner of her dress. She quite literally wore a dress, a long dark purple one that resembled those of olde. Around the waist was a wide brown belt with a pair of extra straps.

"I hope you told Ririka I was sorry" said San-daime nursing a wounded jaw. His scruffy green hair was held back by a pair of goggles. His red and blue shirt seemed to abruptly end at his beige cream waistband. A set of tools hung around his waist and leaned out of the many pockets of his cargo pants. The casual fellow rolled up the trousers to show his shins and wore a pair of simple flip-flops.

"So what's the order of the day, captain?" asked Huakume.

Marika adjusted her tall bicorn hat with its gold trim, tall white plume, and its pirate sigil. Her long black knee length coat felt strange. She must have adjusted it incorrectly when she hastily put it on in the car. The silver tassels swayed from the golden shoulders. The cream scarf, held together by a little purple bauble, neatly poured over the brown vest and the justacorp. In true pirate fashion everything, _everything, _was trimmed in gold. She suddenly realized the reason her captain's outfit felt out of place. The red belt, so essential in keeping all the pieces in place, was pulled far too tight for comfort.

_Uhh… I can't undo it in front of everyone. I'll just have to grin and bear it._

"We're going to raid the Princess Apricot!" she announced with authority, "We've done this many times before, but I don't want anyone slacking. Those rich tourists are counting on us to give them a good show and the Bentenmaru does not disappoint. Luca, set a course!"

"Aye, aye."

"Coorie, prepare to engage in electronic warfare!"

"You got it captain."

"Kane, San-daime, prepare for FTL jump" she ordered standing from her seat.

"FTL ready" reported San-daime.

"Ready, Kane?"

"Aye, aye, captain."

"Jump!"

Needless to say the Apricot mission went by without a hitch. There was the little hiccup with Marika's address to the "unsuspecting" passengers. But that little faux pas had become so common that if Marika were to execute it perfectly the customers felt a little dejected that they had missed such an iconic act. With arms full of booty and the satisfaction of another job well done, the crew of the Bentenmaru departed to sail the stars again.

_So tired._

"That went by perfectly," said Misa, "Well done captain. I'm sure Show will be very happy."

"Yeah" said Marika exhausted from the long day, "I'll call him tomorrow."

"You should call him tonight," said Misa, "If the Captain starts slacking off the insurance companies might not take to us very well. Also it gives the crew an excuse to slack off as well. And we wouldn't want that."

"Yes we would" muttered San-daime.

Marika yawned and closed her eyes for a brief moment as she walked down the narrow halls. She had walked up and down the Bentenmaru so many times that it was second nature. Crash and a bang and the world came tumbling down.

"Oh, shoot, I'm so sorry!"

"Marika are you alright?" asked Misa helping her captain back up.

"I'm okay," she said rising.

Marika had bumped into a member of her crew. A man from engineering as far as she could tell and a little old. His clean shaven face said he was around Kane's age but the grey sides in his brown hair hinted that he was older, much older. The crewman was a tall fellow with brown eyes surrounded by black circles of fatigue. On the right cheek was a little nick a very old injury by the looks of it. As an he was just an ordinary crewman he wore the usual Bentenmaru uniform, a blue long sleeve shirt and grey denim trousers.

"Have we met before?" asked Marika examining the crewman carefully.

"Hmm? No I don't believe so," he said with a puzzled look, "Sorry I bumped into you, I'm just a little tired. Insomnia and the graveyard shift don't exactly get along you know."

"Well don't go snoozing off. The Bentenmaru needs you to keep her in tip top shape."

"Aye, aye, captain!" snapped the crewman.

"Thank you for your hard work. See you around." said Marika walking to her quarters.

"Stille nacht, Captain Kato."

"Stille nacht," she replied, "Wait. 'Fumbling' Hans?"

The crewman immediately dropped all his tools and electronic slates. A whistle emerged from his pocket and let out a high pitched squeal. He barrelled down the hall knocking down anyone in his path. Marika and her crew gave chase jumping over knocked over crew members weaving through the standing. San-daime pulled the general alarm. Alarms blared and red lights flashed. The crew bolted to their stations and grabbed their weapons. Hans cut into every hallway he could to avoid as many people as possible.

"He's running all over the place" said Misa.

"How does he plan to get off the ship?" asked Marika.

"We can't worry about that now," said Kane catching up to the group, "We need to catch him. We'll deal with the details later."

Hans pushed over an engineer and pulled on the cords he was working on. The section of the ship turned black as night. A few moments passed and the emergency lights kicked in but Hans was nowhere to be found.

"Hold it! Freeze!"

A shot fired down the hall crashing into the wall. Hans sprinted from the source and nearly crashed into Misa. Quick as lighting and agile as a cat Hans changed direction and bolted away.

"Marika stay on him" said Kane, "Misa you go this way, I'll go that way."

"Got it!"

"Get back here, Hans!" shouted Marika.

Hans turned left and came face to face with Kane. The helmsman grinned and taunted the frightened man. The culprit spun around and bolted down the right only to be scared off by Misa's demon red eyes. There was only one way he could go now.

Hans was backed into a corner, trapped into a cargo hold. Large crates and containers were stacked against the wall and kept in place by a cargo net. There was no colour here except for steel grey. Steps clanked against the metal floor closing in on the fumbling mechanic. Several Bentenmaru crew members poured into the room and levelled rifles at him.

"Sorry we had to meet again like this," said Marika, "But when someone meets you twice by 'coincidence' then runs away, that's a little suspicious."

Hans put his hands in the air, "Completely honest with you here, I did not have an escape plan."

"Take him to the brig," ordered Schnitzer.

The next day Marika donned her captain's outfit. In addition to her normal attire she armed herself with sword and blaster. She had no desire to use these weapons or to hurt him, but a captain had to appear strong.

The brig was a depressing place. A single lonely fluorescent light lit the room. An energy cage shocked its captive every time he reached out. Hans was seated at a small metal table and handcuffed to his cold chair. Several items were laid out before him: a flask, a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and several other items. Of particular interest was his whistle. It was long and thin narrow tube made of metal. Across its body were several blinking lights that shone in a sequence when the whistle was blown. Misa and Kane were waiting with the large cyborg. Schnitzer opened the door and walked inside with his captain.

"Hello, how are you?" asked Hans, "I'm doing well, thanks."

"Are you here for me?" asked Marika, "Is this about the truce?"

"What truce?" asked Hans.

"Why are you on the Bentenmaru?" asked Marika with a stern look.

"I'll tell you what," Hans coughed, "Being held prisoner works up quite a thirst. Give me a swig of my flask and I'll answer your questions. Deal?"

"I don't like this" said Misa, "It could be a trick."

"No tricks, fraulein. Just a thirst for rum."

Marika opened the flask. The sweet pungent aroma of rum filled the air. With his free hand Hans took the flask and took a deep swig. He let out a satisfying gasp and offered the flask to his captors.

"Why are you here on the Bentenmaru?" Marika asked again.

"I'm looking for a piece of a treasure map," he grinned, "I can see it in your eyes. And yes, I'm truly serious. There's a treasure out there worth more than you could imagine."

"What treasure?"

"Silent Night" he replied.

"It's the morning. No time to sleep now," said Marika.

"No my dear," Hans smirked, "Silent Night is the treasure ship."

"Silent Night is a myth" said Kane.

"It's not a myth. It's a legend," said Hans sternly, "And legends always have a kernel of truth. I'll make you a deal. You and I, the entire Bentenmaru, we go after this old treasure ship and split it down the middle. 50-50. What do you say?"

"Why should we work with you?" interrogated Marika, "You've already told us what you're going after and that the map is on this ship. It looks like you've given us everything."

"There is only one piece of the map on the Bentenmaru," said Hans, "And you can't find it with just a piece. Lucky for you, I know where the rest are. But I won't talk unless we have a deal."

Misa and Kane pulled Marika aside.

"What is Silent Night?" asked Marika, "I've never heard of it before."

"Silent Night is a myth," said Kane, "There's no way what he's saying is true."

"Silent Night was an Imperial vessel that defected and joined the War of Independence on the Federation's side," explained Misa, "It was the most successful privateer during the war. But it was destroyed."

"Not destroyed, only lost," said Hans, "Walls echo here. As I said all we need are the pieces of the map to find it."

Alarms rang out and red light soaked the rooms. Crewmen jumped to their stations and grabbed their weapons. Hans' eyes widened and he struggled against his bonds. Breathing was shallow and quick and his heart must have been racing at a million miles a minute.

"Let me out of here" he nearly screamed, "You've got to let me out!"

Marika and the others didn't listen. The Bentenmaru was their priority. The senior crew appeared on the bridge. The command centre was illuminated beneath the glow of a dim light. The incessant bells and horns of the alarm had become white noise. Misa and Kane took to their stations. Schnitzer prepared the weapons to fire.

"What's going on?" asked Marika.

"A battleship just dropped out of subspace" reported Hyakume, "They're weapons are charged, but they've just sat there staring at us."

"Show me."

Several hundred kilometers away was a battleship equal to the size of the Bentenmaru. The hull was shaped like a traditional seafaring vessel, a long polygon that came to a sharp point. Three large engines and four smaller engines arranged in an X-pattern propelled the vessel forward. The bridge was far above the hull looking over the endless void. It was armed to the teeth. Laser artillery cannons were focused on the sides of the hull with point defense lasers scattered around them. Large missile batteries were primed and ready to fire and concentrated on the top and centre of the hull.

A beam shot across the bow of the Bentenmaru so close that the paint on the hull may as well have been melted off.

"Schnitzer!"

"Already on it," he replied, "Priming weapons and locking target."

"That was just a warning shot" cautioned Misa, "We might not want to start a fight just yet."

"Agreed," said Marika, "But we can't stand by and do nothing. Kane start moving us away from that ship. San-daime, prepare the FTL just in case we need to make a quick escape. Luca set a course for Sea of the Morning Star."

"Captain," said Coorie, "We're getting a message from the ship. Audio only."

"Put it through," said Marika putting on her captain's face.

"This is the pirate ship Hell-born. Hand over Hans, or face our firepower!"


	3. Chapter 2

"Hand over Hans or face our power!" threatened the other ship.

_What could he want with Hans?_

Marika muted her reply while she spoke to her crew, "Misa, please bring Hans up here."

"You sure about this?" asked Misa.

"Yes," said Marika, "Coorie, get ready to engage in electronic warfare. Attention captain of the Hell-born, this is Marika Kato of the Bentenmaru. There is no person here named Hans. Be on your way."

"Marika Kato of the Bentenmaru? Ha! The Bentenmaru is not commanded by a little girl."

"Coorie, send them our transponder data."

"On it."

There was brief pause in communications as the other captain examined the data. In the background one could here murmurings on the other bridge. Brief mentions of the Bentenmaru were accompanied by warnings while still there were others who dismissed the data as a fabrication.

"Bentenmaru or not, we demand you surrender Hans to us."

"There is no Hans –"

"Liar! We received a signal that from this sector that we know belongs to Hans. Hand him over!"

The elevator doors opened and Misa walked out with Hans. His hands were no longer cuffed, but a barrel of a pistol was pushed right into the small of his back. He insisted that it wasn't necessary, but they wouldn't take any chances. Marika was stalling the other captain as they got closer. When the voice hit Hans' ears he tensed up and had half a mind to try and run for it.

"You are running out of time" barked the Hell-born, "Surrender him or we will board you and take him!"

"Hans," said Marika in an aside, "I want to know why these people are after you. And I don't want any stalling or any lies."

"Silent Night," smiled Hans, "I'm not the only one going after it you know. But I am the only one that's found a piece of the map… so far."

"That could be a lie, Captain," said Kane, "The Silent Night is a myth, just like we've said."

"It's a legend," insisted Hans.

"Time is running out, Captain Marika Kato" said the Hell-born.

"I say we hand him over," said Hyakume, "No point keeping him around anyway."

"You can't do that!" protested Hans ready to run away, "If you do the only thing waiting for me will be a bullet in the back! Come on, have a heart."

"And if we don't the only thing waiting for us will be a hard firefight," said Kane.

"Run away" suggested Hans, "Just run away. Pick a random point and run."

"But they'll just pick up that signal again."

"I won't send another. I was hoping my friends would come and talk to you. These guys must have picked it up also. But if we run, we'll live and I can call my friends in a different way. With your permission, of course."

"Twenty seconds, Bentenmaru. Nineteen…"

"What's the call, Captain?"

Marika thought hard, "Coorie, start electronic warfare. Schnitzer target their engines and weapons systems. Kane, San-daime, Luca, get us out of here! We're running away."

The Hell-born bellowed and fired a volley of laser beams from its prow. The lasers splashed against the green energy shield. Its massive missile batteries elevated and took its target. Coorie's fingers danced across the GUI and skittered across the keys as she tried to take control of the enemy vessel. The Bentenmaru responded in kind with a volley of its own. Its green beams streaked across the black velvet and sprayed in every direction when it hit the deflector shield. Kane spun the wheel pushing the Bentenmaru to face the west. The missile batteries swivelled to face the Hell-born. The red tipped furies soared out of their nest. The flames and flares of the warheads sputtered and scattered in every direction before exploding harmlessly in the void.

"They're jamming our targeting systems," reported Schnitzer, "Compensating."

"Coorie, how's the EW going?" asked Marika.

"And there we go," said Coorie, "I've taken control of a couple of a couple of their systems. But they're fighting back. So sloppy, it makes me want to cry with what they are doing."

"San-daime, where's our FTL?"

"Charging. We'll need about five minutes before we can jump."

"Captain! They're turning to show us their broadside!" warned Hyakume, "If they fire we might not come out of it in one piece."

"Kane!"

"On it!"

Kane pushed on the wheel as hard as he could. Bentenmaru forced itself to face down and sink into space. The Hell-born brought all its weapons to bear. The beam cannons turned and converged on the Bentenmaru unleashing a hell storm of energy. Ordnance flew from their cannons and silos screaming silent death. The ballistic swarm and bolts of energy slammed into the pirate ship. The crew rocked and tumbled as their ship took the impact. The shimmering shield flickered and shattered into a thousand shards. The hull bent and burst under the explosive power of the ballistics. Metal and plastic and ceramic melted into red hot molten liquid that quickly cooled and solidified in the vacuum of space.

"How's the ship?" asked Marika.

"We got hit" said Hyakume.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"The shields took the brunt of the assault. Rerouting power. They'll be back up in thirty seconds. There are minor hull breaches along the centre of the ship, the bulkheads have sealed. Weapons are still operational" reported Schnitzer.

"Engines?" asked Marika, "The FTL?"

"The hit knocked out several power relays," reported San-daime clicking on the GUI, "I'll need another three minutes."

"We might not have three minutes!" yelled Kane.

"Quit whining, keep flying," said Misa.

"They're launching boarding craft" warned Hyakume.

"Don't let them get close," ordered Marika, "And return fire!"

"Roger!"

The two batteries of three massive beam cannons charged with a bright blue-green glow. Anti-matter missiles loaded into the silos. Scales of the hull flapped back revealing the deadly warheads. Beam dispersers scattered into the Hell-born's shields. The tri-laser cannons fired in a hard continuous salvo into the keel of the enemy ship. The shield shined and shimmered as it tried to hold back the energy. Schnizter poured more power into the weapons. The intensity of the beams amplified with its brightness. Like a cheap mirror, the enemy shield shattered.

The missiles roared to life shrieking like banshees. The Hell-born's point defense turrets fired. Tracers and bolts followed the ballistic flight paths. Explosions surrounded the Hell-born, too far to do any damage. A pair of missiles broke through the cloud of flak and fire. The first crashed into the starboard side blowing a massive hole in the hull. The second slammed into a battery creating an awe inspiring display of pyrotechnics.

"Two direct hits," reported Schnitzer, "The have a large hull breach but the damage is mostly superficial. We knocked out a few small batteries as well."

"So she's still in fighting shape," said Marika, "Kane try to keep us behind the Hell-born, at the very least it's front. Don't let them show a broadside again."

"Aye, aye!" said Kane throwing the wheel.

"Just a couple more minutes," said San-daime.

"Captain, they've just sent out a signal," reported Coorie, "I'm jamming them and hacking their communications now."

_Let's hope no one was listening._

The crew of the Bentenmaru forced their ship to perform fantastic maneuvers as it dodged barrage after barrage. When they could they returned fire with salvos of energy, but those chances were uncommon. For when they turned to bring their weapons to bear, the Hell-born began to turn to show its broadside. Missiles from both ships soared through the starry sky only to find its end in the empty space between the warships.

"FTL is almost ready. Just a couple more adjustments."

"Ahh! It's their broadside!" said Kane.

"We're getting a large energy reading too," said Hyakume, "Something is dropping out of subspace."

_A broadside and another ship._

"It's small," reported Hyakume, "I can barely get a read on it, but it's no bigger than a corvette."

"Energy readings!" said Coorie.

The corvette sped toward the Hell-born. The massive battleship ignored the little pest and tried to push its broadside to face the Bentenmaru. The silos loaded and the beams charged. Kane tried to turn the Bentenmaru away from the danger zone. Schnitzer fired everything he had. Lasers crashed against the hull and missiles exploded all around. Hell-born's thick armour buckled and split but the ship itself simply shrugged off the blows.

The corvette fired a flurry of laser bolts from a pair of small cannons. The rapid fire hail of red energy did nothing. The tiny attack may have destroyed a few point defense turrets and punched a few holes in the armour but it was all for naught. Irritated by the insolence of the attack the Hell-born's turrets fired a storm of death at the little ship. Lasers would have melted the hull, the missiles would have shattered the ship, but the corvette was unharmed. The small vessel swam in the starry sea, flipping and swerving, and rising and falling at a speed well in excess for its class. Lasers passed harmlessly by, the beams of light left alone to explore the universe. Ballistic missiles darted around the corvette only to burst far behind, below, and around. The corvette fired another stream of bolts. A large chunk of the Hell-born broke off from and the ship began to limp around the battle zone.

"That's some amazing speed" said San-daime, "Must have a crack pilot too."

"They knocked out his radar and sensor array!" said Hyakume, "They're flying blind!"

"They still have optics," said Schnitzer targeting the weapons, "They aren't out of the fight yet."

"Torpedo!"

A massive explosion erupted in the cold dead of space. Ignited gas spilled into the void. Metal shattered and sprayed in every direction. The ship shook violently. Bulkheads crashed shut as the air was sucked out of the halls dragging debris as it went.

"What happened?" asked Marika.

"A torpedo hit the Hell-born, their engines are gone. Both FTL and impulse," reported Coorie, "And I just got control of those too."

"That corvette has really done a number" said Kane.

"Don't thank them yet," cautioned Misa, "They might just be picking us off while we're weakened."

"We still need to get out of here" said Marika, watching the Hell-born spin helplessly, "It might not be able to move but its weapons are still functioning. FTL status?"

"Charged and ready" repored San-daime.

"Coordinates set," said Luca, "Wait, there's something garbling navigation."

Luca's navigation screen flickered with static. The numbers scrolled almost randomly, like the rolls of a slot machine.

"Something has input a new set of coordinates" said Luca in her monotone voice, "It'll take a minute or so to reset it."

"Use those coordinates!" said Hans gripping the nearest bulkhead, "We can't stay here!"

"They're broadside is showing," warned Schnitzer.

"I don't think we can dodge this one" said Kane turning the wheel as fast as he could.

"Captain?"

Marika thought hard, "Use those coordinates. Jump!"

The Bentenmaru came to a halt as it turned to face the coordinates. The Hell-born fired its missiles, the warheads surged forward darting in every which way without rhyme or reason as it drew closer and closer. The Bentenmaru seemed to stretch. It engines shone brightly, bulbs of light grew and grew. Twenty seconds to impact. A large opening in subspace opened and the Bentenmaru was slowly sucked in. Ten seconds. The engines ate its propellant. The Bentenmaru surged into subspace accelerating with amazing speed as it exceeded the universal speed limit. A bright light surrounded the Bentenmaru as it escaped at faster-than-light speed toward whatever location that mysterious set of coordinates took them to. The ballistic missiles flew through the shadow of the pirate ship and disappointingly exploded in nothingness.

"Where are we?" asked Marika as the Bentenmaru dropped out of warp.

Luca fiddled with the maps and GUI, "No stars, no planets, or astral bodies. This is empty space. We're several light years away from Tau Ceti. It'll take me a few moments to figure out exactly where we are."

"There's something small on the sensors, but I can't get a clear read," reported Hyakume.

"Take a look out a window" said Hans, "No need to keep scanning. It's there."

"Schnitzer, how are weapons?" asked Marika.

"Operational," he replied, "Should I target it?"

"No, but be ready just in case. We don't know what they're after."

A little beep caught their attention. On the screen a small envelope shuffled across the pixels and opened. The message read:

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky."

_What in the world is this?_

Hans stepped to the Captain's Chair and reached over Marika's shoulder. Misa grabbed his shoulder and pulled him a back.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked with suspicion.

"Answering the message" he said with a smile, "If you don't reply with the correct phrase they'll shoot you."

"How do I know this isn't a trap" asked Marika.

"Simple, because I don't want to die," said Hans.

"Fine."

Hans ran his fingers over the keyboard:

"And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by."

"They're hailing us" reported Coorie, "Audio only."

"Captain? Are you there?" asked a woman's voice.

"This is Captain Marika Kato of the Pirate Ship Bentenmaru."

"Not you. Our captain."

"I'm here" said Hans.

"Hey Captain," she said happily, "So did you manage to get the piece?"

"Well," Hans laughed nervously, "I almost did. They caught me, but they're treating me well. Prison food and all."

"Captain Marika, we would like our Captain back if you please. He has some very important business to do with us."

"You mean finding the Silent Night" said Marika with a smirk.

The comms were silent. Small sounds of bickering and confusion whispered in the background.

"I told them" said Hans, "No point in hiding it. You can drop the jamming too."

The static cleared from Hyakume's screens. The sensor specialist scanned the area thoroughly sending radar waves, microwaves, infrared waves, beta waves, alpha waves, ocean waves and every other kind of wave to get the clearest picture. Drifting nonchalantly around the Bentenmaru was the corvette.

It was about fifty meters long and thirty to forty meters wide. The vessel was no larger than a freighter, the crew must have created a sensor shadow to make it appear larger. Based on its large circular hull and thin armour plating the ship was a deep space freighter, a very old one at that. Protruding from the front of the disk-like hull was the cockpit that resembled a cone with the end cut cleanly off. Four large wings extended in an X-pattern from the hull and had a large dish and antennae at the ends. Along the wing span were several other smaller objects that Hyakume assumed amplified their jamming capabiltiies. Three large engines, almost too large for a vessel this size, glowed a dim red as the ship floated mindlessly. Between the three engines were four smaller ones, two on either side of the centre. Impulse engines most likely.

The vessel was armed lightly. A battery of four small laser cannons were mounted on a turret both above and below the hull. An additional pair of cannons were underslung from the cockpit. On the top of was a pair of three missile tubes that would be a single shot only. And the fatal weapon was the torpedo tube cleverly hidden under the ship.

"Damn, they've modified that thing like crazy" said San-daime, "I'd love to take a look inside."

"I'd love to take you aboard," said Hans, "I'm sure my engie would enjoy some tech talk for once. Captain Kato, I hope you'll let my ship dock with yours. And there's also the matter of my affects."

Marika looked at the satchel of items that belonged to the rogue. The flask, the cigarettes, the lighter, all the little things that had no value she had no issue with letting go. The strange whistle with its strange lights was another matter.

"You can have it all back," Marika picked up the whistle, "Except for this."

"I'm going to need that back," said Hans reaching for it, "It has sentimental value."

"Oh I'm sure it does," said Marika pulling the whistle away, "Because it's what you used to signal the Hell-born. I think we'll keep it."

"I didn't mean to signal the Hell-born with that. I was hoping my ship would pick it up and," Hans paused, "Wait how did you know that is what I used."

"I didn't" smirked Marika, "You just told me."

"Clever girl" said Misa softly.

"Give it back!" demanded Hans lunging for it.

The crew immediately drew their weapons and pointed it toward the rogue. Marika gripped her sword and stepped back. Hans immediately threw up his hands. His eyes widened. He wanted to speak but as he tried to find the words, perplexed looks ran over his face.

"Don't shoot" he finally said and sighed, "Okay, that was a dumb move. But I will need that whistle back."

"So this whistle isn't just a signal then."

Hans relented, "It's a key. To the treasure of the Silent Night. My offer still stands by the way. So what do you say?"

"Why would we work with you?" asked Kane, "We have the key."

"But you don't know how to find the map. I do."

"There's still the trust issue," said Marika.

"Tell you what," said Hans, "You can keep a hold of that key, and I'll keep a hold of the map piece I've already got. That's a pretty good insurance policy for our trust wouldn't you say?"

The crew gave each other suspicious looks.

"Captain, are you still there?"

"Yup, I'm still here" said Hans, "We're kind of in the middle of a business deal. So what do you say, do we have a deal? Oh, and to entice you further as long as you hold that key, everyone will be going after you to get it."

"Entice? More like coerce" said Misa, "Think carefully about this, Marika."

"Treasure, my dear" said Hans, "There's nothing pirates like you and me like more that treasure."

"Very well" said Marika putting a hand on her hip, "We have a deal. Let's find the Silent Night. So where is the next map piece?"

"Let my crew aboard and we can discuss it."

Marika agreed. The crew of the freighter was greeted by their captain and Marika Kato. With them they brought a large silver briefcase. The crew was surprisingly small, only four members including Hans.

The first one to walk through the airlock was a slender woman. She was young, perhaps a few years older than Marika. She had long auburn hair that waved like the seas. She fashioned a group of strands into a single braid on the left side of her head. The rest of her locks were left free to flow and fly. Her green almond shaped eyes carefully examined Marika before fixing on Hans. The lady was dressed in a pair of blue pants with holsters strapped around the thighs that disappeared into a pair of tall knee high boots. A beige shirt hugged her tightly while the brown vest hung on her loosely.

"You alright, Hans?" she asked.

"Absolutely," he replied, "How's _Das Boot_, Mary?"

"She needs her captain" she said with a smirk, "Speaking of captains, you must be Captain Marika Kato."

"Yes I am," she said, "It's nice to meet you."

"She's the child of Gonzaemon Kato? I thought she'd be older" Mary whispered in an aside to Hans.

Schnitzer bumped into the second person exiting the airlock. The cyborg gave him a stern look and didn't say a word. The stern look was returned by the man leaving.

"You're a big fella, ain't cha?" he said with a gruff voice, "We're going to have to throw down some time."

He was a large burly man, only one foot shorter than Schnitzer. His black sweaty hair was chopped short into a crew cut. His grey eyes were dull and listless, but had a piercing quality if he looked directly at you. Beneath his hard exterior though there was a sense of humour as he started to chuckled and gave Schnitzer a friendly punch on the arm. Clothes really didn't conceal his broad body. He wore a grey tank top drenched in sweat. The pockets of his green camouflage fatigues were filled with snacks and small foodstuffs. As he stepped into the hall the black combat boots impacted the floor with a heavy thud.

"Whew!" said Hans wafting away the smell of sweat, "Should have cleaned up before you walked on board, Orvar."

"No time, Hans," Orvar's gaze fell on Marika, "So you are the one to catch 'Clever' Hans?"

"Yup" said Marika.

"Big feat for little girl to beat up man," Orvar nodded with slightly impressed.

"Uhhh… thanks?"

"Orvar! Take this thing" shouted the third person.

She was a small girl, roughly the height of Coorie. She chopped off most of her light brown hair and what remained was styled in a boyish fashion. The girl's face was covered in oil and grease and fluids. She hid, or more accurately, protected her hazel eyes from harm with a pair of thick goggles similar to San-daime's pair. She wore a pair of baggy pants with pockets every place it could manage. The weight of all the little things in those pockets must have made it difficult to walk normally and were it not for her utility belt the trousers would have to be dragged on the ground. She tied her coverall shirt around her waist letting her body breath through the white t-shirt. Like Mary, she had holsters on her legs, but instead of guns she had tools.

She let out an impressed whistle, "This is some ship, I can tell."

"Marika, this is Tina," said Hans, "Our local tech junkie and engineer."

"Nice to meet you" said Marika.

"Yeah…" said Tina looking around the hall following the power conduits in her mind, "Mind if I see your engines?"

"Maybe later," said Marika, "First, we have business to discuss."

Both crews gathered in a large room with a large dark wooden table. In the centre of the table was a holographic projector. Orvar took the silver briefcase and opened it to reveal a computer system within. As everyone was taking their seats, the projector flickered to life displaying the image of blank, empty space.

"Where should we start?" asked Mary.

"From the beginning," said Misa, "The Silent Night is a myth."

"A legend" interrupted Hans.

"What makes you think that it's still around?"

"That whistle" said Hans.

The holographic projection changed into an image of the strange whistle and continued to shift and transform as Tina started to explain.

"Like you we had thought that the Silent Night was destroyed shortly after the War of Independence. But, when this whistle was blown something popped up in our comms channels. This frequency showed up."

"It could just be noise" said Coorie, "Random EMW given off by stars and other cosmic things."

"It was a message in a bottle" said Hans.

Tina nodded, "It was too consistent to be noise. I ran it through several analysis and found this buried inside the erratic data. It's the transponder data from the Silent Night. Now here's the kicker, the point of origin wasn't from the whistle, but a subspace transmission."

"Which means the ship is still in one piece" inferred Marika.

"Or at least a few functional pieces" said Kane, "So why don't you just trace the transmission to the point of origin?"

Tina shook her head, "It's impossible. The transmission is encrypted beyond comprehension and I can't crack it."

"The damn thing also attracts other ships," said Mary, "Every time we blow that whistle it transmits a unique signal, the 'Boatswain's Call' is what we call it. And it sends it to everyone. And _that _can be traced very easily."

"That's what got you into a good fight" said Orvar, "That pirate ship picked up the signal before we did."

"Give Coorie that data," said Marika, "Just because you failed once doesn't mean it won't work. Maybe we can crack that code."

"You've got the whistle," said Mary, "Blow it and get your own data."

"Sorry Marika," said Hans, "Frankly if you solve the code there's no guarantee that you'd take us with you."

"I give you my word."

"A word only has value if it has been proven. Remember that," said Hans, "Sorry, I can't trust your word, just as you can't trust mine. Not yet, anyway."

"Let's continue on" said Misa.

"Right," said Marika, "So the Silent Night is still out there. But how did you learn about these map pieces and get the key?"

"A strange man," said Hans, "In a little place far away from here and tucked away where no one could see this fellow walked in. 'I have a proposition for you boys' he shouted. 'Find the Silent Night and I shall bestow upon you treasures beyond imagination' he claimed."

"But you said the Silent Night was full of treasure" said Marika.

"It is. The strange part, he promised to match all the treasure we found as well" said Hans, "The he pulled out the key. 'Let he who finds the Silent Night use this key to unlock her riches'. And he tossed it into the crowd."

"Lucky for us that no one believed him," said Mary, "Except for old Hans here."

"Would have been a fun brawl if they did though," said Orvar, "I was itching for a good fight."

"And we would have kept it secret too," said Hans, "but then we found the first map piece. And once that rumour got out, everyone wanted a piece of the action. Hence why they are after us."

"The _key_" said Mary, "They're after the key, not us."

"So about this map" said Marika.

The hologram flickered and transformed again. Most of the image was illegible static but in the vast empty mess was a single star system floating far above. Five planets circled around blue twin suns. The planets were hostile and hard. One was a ball of ice, the other a volcanic sphere of magma and ash, the rest were surrounded by clouds of toxic gas and seas of acid.

"A single star system proves nothing" said Kane.

"I see it" said Luca.

"What do you see?" asked San-daime, "Wait, let me guess. You don't know."

"No," she said, "Look more closely. Between the stars and the planets, in the empty sea there is a wake."

"Good eye," said Tina, "We had the same reaction you all did. A single star system means very little, but when you examine it more closely."

A faint cloud appeared between the planets. Tina typed on the keys and the cloud intensified until it was clear as day.

"This is the warp signature of the Silent Night, very faint nearly untraceable. But someone, or some group managed to trace it."

Misa pulled the suitcase toward her and examined all the data, "This is over 100 years old."

"You mean they made this map during the War of Independence?" asked Marika.

"This is the code and word of Shiratori Kent," said a voice through static and white noise, "In accordance with the captains of the Original Seven I seal this piece to the vaults of the Hakuchou. I decree that this secret be left hidden for eternity until the Original Seven come together unanimously to claim what is rightfully theirs. I pray that it is soon."

The recording broke into hacking and disgusting coughing before abruptly ending.

"This piece came from the Hakuchou, or the Odette II if you prefer. Darn thing was hidden in the ship's cookbooks, believe it or not, along with these numbers: 04281721. Not sure what those are, but that's what came with the star system" said Hans, "And it is the second piece of the puzzle."

"The Original Seven?" asked Marika, "What do they have to do with the Silent Night?"

"They were the ones to destroy the Imperial ship after it returned to the Imperial fold during the minor conflicts after the war," said Misa, "The logs said that the Silent Night was completely destroyed, but clearly they must've lied to keep it a secret."

"But why would they keep it a secret?"

"Maybe they wanted to keep it lost" said San-daime.

"Then why didn't they destroy it? It would be easier than trying to hide it. Think, boy" said Mary.

"Does it matter?" asked Hans, "Who cares why some old men hid the ship."

"So, the Original Seven kept a secret treasure hidden for over 100 years" said Marika, "Which means that whatever they hid must be worth an insane amount."

"I like what you're saying," smiled Hans.

"There's a problem though," said Misa, "Other than the Bentenmaru and the Odette II, the remaining ships of the Original Seven were lost."

"But there has to be something" said Mary, "Survivors from the ships, old captains or something. If they went through the effort to hide it, they'd go through just as much effort to make sure they could find it again."

"Maybe they entrusted it to someone else" suggested Hyakume, "In case they died and the other captains decided to open the Silent Night."

"Or it was a last man standing scenario," said Orvar, "The last surviving captain claims all the treasure."

"Those are some long shots" said Kane, "We might be searching for nothing."

"I say let's go after it" said Marika, "Nothing is more pirate like than buried treasure. And we can still do our regular jobs while we do this. That way if we are chasing after nothing, it won't be for nothing."

"Alright then," said Hyakume.

"Very well, Captain," said Misa.

"I'd like to take a look at that subspace whistle," said Coorie, "Maybe there are other clues hidden in compressed old data."

"Alright, Captain," said Kane, "So what do we do now?"

"Right, we… um… hmmm…" pondered Marika, "Ah! We look for the next map piece. Any ideas where to begin?"

Hans had a perplexed expression, "Well here, of course."

"What?"

"The Bentenmaru is one of the Original Seven, no?" said Mary, "The next piece is here."


	4. Chapter 3

"I figured as much," said Marika, "Well then, how do we get it?"

Tina closed the brief case, "Well it'll take some time. Hans here was supposed to steal your database so I could decrypt it. But since we're working together now, how about you just let me take a look around."

"What are you looking for?" asked Coorie, "I can probably find it faster. I know every file and directory of the Bentenmaru like the back of my hand."

"Unless you've got an administrator code that goes back 100 years or more, you're shit out of luck. These old captains knew what they were doing. Pieces are hidden in places you wouldn't even think of looking. The only way I've found it is to trace some little fragments and those are a real pain to find."

"Still two heads are better than one" said Marika, "Will you let Coorie help at least?"

"Sure," said Tina.

"Wait, you mentioned an administrator code" said Kane, "Captain, don't you have something like that? You are the direct descendant of the original captain."

Marika's mind immediately went to her ring. The little silver item with the skull in place of a gem kept secrets that spanned the entire history of the Bentenmaru. Given to her by Princess Gruier and passed down by her father, this little trinket was more than just a key to the ship. It was a key to the past. But how far did it really go?

"There's no harm in trying" said Hans, "If you've got something it'll make our lives a lot easier."

"Alright," said Marika, "Let's give it a shot then."

Marika stood up and walked to the nearest control panel. She pressed her hand against the glass.

As the screen started to change she announced, "Marika Kato, of the Bentenmaru, daughter of Gonzaemon Kato. Voice print ID: 'The seas of space belong to everyone'."

_Hopefully that draws attention away from the ring._

She caught Misa's sly smile of approval out of the corner of her eye. The screen popped with several small and large windows. Insignia and images flashed in every corner alongside pages and pages of texts. Hans and Tina ran up to the screen and peered over Marika's shoulder looking for the little fragments. They pointed to anything that seemed out of place… to them.

"Computer search for Silent Night" said Marika, "Adminstrative protocol. Captain Kato."

The screen turned black. A single line of text appeared on the screen:

"Would you like to hear a song? Y/N"

"Put in yes" said Hans.

"No, put 'no'" said Coorie.

Both crews started to voice their own opinion. Who knew so much noise could come from a simple 'yes or no' question. Marika just drowned out the voices and typed a single letter. A high pitched noise sang through the cabin. Everyone became quiet as they listened to the tune. It was a song that was completely foreign to Marika, but everyone else seemed to resonate to the old song. Their eyes fixed to unseen stars as old memories they never knew ran through their mind. The upbeat tune made the crew tap their feet to the beat and clap their hands. Hans pulled out his flask and took a happy swig.

Kane was the first to start, "In the Black Ball line I served my time. To me way-aye-aye, hurray-ah. And that's the line where you can shine. Hurrah for the Black Ball line! The Black Ball ships are good and true…"

Everyone who knew the song jumped in, "To me way-aye-aye, hurray-ah!"

As they continued to sing the text on the screen disappeared as if it was listening to the pirates sing. The image of the old Jolly Roger, the skull over a pair of crossed sabres, slowly took over the black. The flask of rum was passed around the room as the shanty continued. Once the song completed, the Jolly Roger disappeared and another message appeared:

"Word to be Passed"

"Wait, that's it?" said Hans, "Where's the star system? The number series? Anything!"

"I guess we picked the wrong one" said Marika, "Well, let's just do it again. Computer search for Silent Night, administrative protocol, Captain Kato."

The computer did nothing except to keep the message remained on the screen.

"It must want something more" said Misa.

"Yeah, but what?" said Mary, "Unless you want to throw in some random words and numbers there's not much we can do."

"How about the last pieces," asked Kane, "How did you unlock those?"

"The first was more or less just given to us" said Hans, "The second, well we had to blow that damn whistle."

"Well what did you blow?"

"I don't know" admitted Hans, "I just blew through the damn thing when I was drunk and it worked."

Kane read the message on the screen again, "Marika, do you know how to use that?"

She shook her head.

"Well first you put your hand around it like this," said Kane taking the whistle, "Then you blow it like this."

The whistle screeched a mid-high pitch for a few seconds then squeaked a high note. The screen flickered and the text disappeared. Hans groaned frustratingly as the empty screen. Then suddenly a star system appeared with the faint FTL signature snaking between the planets. Beneath the system was a series of numbers: 22111718.

"Well, there's our third piece" said Marika, "What do you suppose those numbers are? Coordinates?"

"Can't be" said Mary, "If they were coordinates, why would we have to find the map pieces. Our first set of numbers would have led us right to the ship and we wouldn't be here. Think, girl."

"Who cares about the numbers" said Hans, "They could be someone's birthday for all I care. The star system is what is important. We have three pieces, just grab four more and we're golden."

"I recognize this system" said Marika, "Wait, it's the Serenity System."

"That's strange," said Misa, "Serenity wasn't involved in the War of Independence. And no one pirated their ships during that time. What was the Silent Night doing there?"

"Port in the storm perhaps" said Mary, "Squeeze yourself into a neutral star system and no one can touch you. Unless they want to start a war."

"Well, regardless it's a good place to start looking for clues to the Silent Night" said Marika, "And I've got a couple friends there that can help us."

"Hey guys," said Tina, "I hate to break up this planning session, but I'd like to remind you that when you blow the whistle it sends a subspace signal that can be traced."

Shocked looks fixed on Tina.

"That's right" she nodded, "That means everyone searching for the Silent Night is going to show up here really soon."

"Luca, San-daime!"

"On it!" said San-daime jumping over the table.

"I see them coming!" said Luca running out the door.

"Let's go boys and girls. Back to _Das Boot_," ordered Hans, "We'll meet at Sea of the Morning Star and finish our planning there."

"Okay!"

The ships hastily broke apart from each other and spooled their FTL drives. In a split second after the break the _Das Boot_ engines flared and she disappeared.

Hyakume whistled in admiration, "They must have some amazing engines to pull that off."

"And an excellent NavCom too" said Luca.

While the seas of space were calm and serene, the Bentenmaru made its escape toward the Tau Ceti system. Looking out into the infinity of space, the small planets looked like glass marbles against black velvet. The shining star in the centre was like a beacon, a lighthouse if you will. A large vessel got closer to the Bentenmaru as it drifted patiently waiting for their partners. The comms filled with chatter from an open frequency.

"I told you she was out working," said a high pitched familiar voice.

Marika laughed nervously, "I knew I forgot something. Wait how did you…"

"Lynn wasn't the only one with hacking skills," said Natalia, "How was your latest adventure in piracy?"

"Aww… you went on another job without me?"

"Gruier? Is that you?" asked Marika, "What are you doing on the Odette II?"

"Of course it's her," said Grunhilda, "We are members of the Yacht Club too, remember?"

"Right. So how's the cruise going?"

"Pretty well, we've made some adjustments to your flight plan," said Gruier, "Hope you don't mind."

"Captain, I hate to spoil this little chat, but Hans and _Das Boot_ still haven't shown up."

"Take a look out the windows" said Hans' voice.

A small ship appeared on Hyakume's screen and started to circle around the Bentenmaru like an annoying little bug. The little grey ship was dwarfed by the massive, long red hull of the Bentenmaru. The large engine atop the ship was easily thrice the size of _Das Boot_ at least. Two smaller engines were attached to long flat black wings on the back half of the hull. On the long bullet shaped hull of the were two sets of cannons and tubes upon tubes of missiles.

"Here's your blind spot" said Hans.

The little ship flew behind the Bentenmaru and faded away. The great engines glowed deep emerald green. The bright light swallowed _Das Boot_.

"There's usually a sensor blind spot where the engines make a wake" said Hans, "Lucky for you most ships are too big to sneak around here. But a little one like mine."

"Energy readings!" said Hyakume.

"Exactly."

"Marika, who are they?" asked Gruier over the comms.

"Hallo! I'm Hans, 'Fumbling' Hans," said Hans in a dopey voice, "And this is my ship. My little freighter."

"You can't fool me that easily," said Gruier, "You're a pirate too, right?"

Random chatter filled the background.

"You're a sharp one aren't you."

"Ahem" said Marika, "Well then, now that we've met up, we have some business to deal with."

"A pirate adventure?" asked Gruier enthusiastically, "Can I come?"

"Oh… uhh… sorry, couldn't read that. Solar winds and radiation," Marika signalled Hyakume, "We'll talk later. Bye!"

"No, wait –"

"Coorie, can you send _Das Boot_ the address to that restaurant," asked Marika, "Discretely."

"Sure thing boss."

In a dark room beneath the airport's cafeteria, the two crew gathered to discuss the next step in their search. The blue glow of the hologram basked over their faces while they waited for the meal to arrive.

Hans had finally changed into something a little more comfortable. He put his black boots up on the table and leaned back. The long blue trousers were well worn and fading, but the burgundy red stripe that ran down the leg was in perfect condition. A black leather jacket kept him warm and the sleeves of his tan shirt peeked out of the jacket. Inside the jacket he kept his flask and cigarettes. Around his waist was his belt and holster. The dark, steel grey blaster, which looked more like a box with a trigger and barrel than a gun, rested anxiously in the holster.

The wood and paper door slid open and the first course was set on the table. It was a simple dish, just miso soup and vegetables but the eyes of the crew of _Das Boot_ grew as wide as dinner plates. Abandoning all civility and courtesy they quickly gobbled up their portions like rabid beasts. After the feeding frenzy was done they did express their gratitude.

_Wow, _thought Marika, _It's like they never saw soup before._

"The next dish will be a while," said Marika, "So, what's our next step."

"Right" said Hans wiping his face, "Mary."

"Right…" said Mary, "We don't have a lot to go on, but the Serenity System is as good a place to start as any. From what I know of history, the Silent Night probably used this place as safe harbour. My guess is that we can find clues about the Silent Night itself here. And if we talk to the right people, we might be able to track down a couple of the Original Seven."

"It's a pretty flimsy plan" said Misa, "But she's right. We don't have much to go on."

"Do we know anyone in Serenity that can help us?" asked Hans, "Information brokers, barkeeps, politicians, singing and dancing monkeys? Anything?"

_There's Gruier and Grunhilda, but I'd rather not get them mixed up in this._

"We could always try the Serenity Archives" suggested Kane, "All ships that pass through the system must register with the government. So, everyone on that ship will have a complete record. It might give us someone to track down."

"We could do the same for the Captains of the Original Seven," said Misa, "We're still grasping at straws, but we're getting somewhere."

"Can we access the records remotely?" asked Marika.

"No. If the Silent Night went to Serenity to hide like Mary said, it would have had to apply for asylum for each of its crew members and the ship." said Coorie, "Government records like that are kept on Serenity itself and are distributed only on a case by case basis. They try to keep spies and other folks from tracking people down."

"The government protecting pirates. Fancy that" said Mary, "There's another problem then. If the government only gives them on a case by case how will we get a hold of them? I doubt they'll agree to giving this information to a bunch of treasure hunters."

"We break in an fight" suggested Orvar, "Weak librarians are no match for Orvar!"

"I can hack the system" said Coorie, "I just need someone to keep the clerks busy."

"Need I remind everyone that Letter of Marque pirates cannot actually do anything illegal," said Misa, "We need to tread carefully if we're going after this."

"Why be a pirate if you have to follow the law" scoffed Mary, "I'll help you out Coorie."

"We can cheat the system," said Coorie, "The Serenity Archives work on a linking system. So every person that has a relation to a ship, another person, planet, whatever will have their file linked directly to the others. Those links are just encrypted several times over making it impossible to crack for a normal hacker."

"But you're not a normal hacker" said Tina.

Coorie gave her a sly smile.

"So what record would connect both the Silent Night, and the Original Seven, and the other Captains?" asked Marika thinking deeply.

The rest of the room looked at her trying to give her a subtle hint. Marika looked back at them. It was all going over her head.

"Do you want to tell her or shall I?" asked Mary.

"Marika, Bentenmaru, Original Seven" said Hyamuke, "Ringing any bells?"

"Oh" Marika laughed embarrassed, "I guess we'll look up my father then."

_I'll get to learn about my father too. _

"We should go farther back" said Mary, "We'll look up Bunzaemon Kato, the captain during the War of Independence."

"Okay," said Marika, "That's the plan. Let's set a course for the Serenity as soon as possible."

"As soon as possible? Let's go now!" said Hans.

Luca was hard at work inputting the flight path to the Serenity system while Schnizter was organizing the repairs. The fight was short, but those ballistic missiles did a mess on the armour and exterior hull. Marika sat in her captain's chair trying to find as much information as possible about her great grandfather. The system refused to grant her requests however, giving her only little fragments such as his age, height, and favourite food (which coincidentally was pot-au-feu).

"Marika" said Misa breaking her out of her search, "Going after the Silent Night is going to be a very long job."

"Yeah" said Marika leaning back in her seat, "Hopefully it's worth it. Hans sure thinks it is."

"We should be careful about him," said Misa, "But that's not what I want to talk about. Remember the Letter of Marque is only valid for a period of fifty days."

"Yeah. So we need to do a job for the insurance company in that period in order to make sure our license stays active."

"That's right," Misa nodded, "By going after the Silent Night we might be taken far away from any prospective insurance jobs. So we'll need to arrange several jobs in advance or take a _very_ long term one."

"I'll contact Show right away" said Marika opening a communications channel.

The Harold Lloyd logo flashed on the screen. A dark skinned man with an orb of frizzy hair around his head and a smart beard appeared shortly after. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of green rimmed square sunglasses with yellow lenses.

Professionally dressed in a green suit and red shirt he greeted Marika, "Yo, you've got a hold of the Harold Lloyd Insurance Union. I'm the head agent Show."

"Hi, Show" said Marika, "I was wondering if it would be possible to –"

"I am currently unavailable at the moment. Probably in a meeting or something" said the image, "Please leave a message after the tone and I'll get back to you right away, you dig? Stay classy!"

*BEEEEP*

"Hey, Show" said Marika a little irate, "It's Marika of the Bentenmaru. I've got a little problem and was wondering if I could set up a series of jobs that could cover some long distance travelling we'll be doing. Anyways, get back to me when you can. Thanks!"

"Course is set, FTL is ready" reported Luca, "Shall we jump?"

"JUMP!"

The Serenity System was immaculate. Seven siblings revolved around their glowing elder. A pair of blue sisters with braids of white wisps of atmosphere shared between the two. The Turquoise Brothers, rivals for the elder's attention. The brothers revolved around each other eclipsing each other in their shadows and pushing out when they must. Watching their children was the Red Father ever vigilant in his patrol. Behind him was the Indigo mother walking with her youngest child, the White Child.

Three Corback-class ships left their patrol around the system to intercept the two pirate vessels. The lead captain hailed both vessels and gave the standard greeting and a warning. Simply stated, if the pirates cause trouble they won't last long. The pirate vessels acknowledged the warning and proceeded to the Blue Sisters. While the Bentenmaru docked with the relay station, _Das Boot_ just entered into the atmosphere and found a place to land in the city. There are advantages to being small.

The crew split apart after making landfall. Coorie and Marika went directly to the Archives. The building was ancient, made of stone and mortar with large cylindrical pillars at its entrance. There were elements of our modern times. Around the plaza holograms of historical figures hovered in the air, while at the Archive itself a large projection displayed famous scenes of Serenity's history. Mary sat on the steps bored rigid while Hans leaned against the stone impatiently waiting for his partners to arrive.

"About damn time" said Hans, "Come on, let's find out where the next piece is and get off this rock."

"We're ready to get started when you are" said Mary, "They've got two guards on the inside, lightly armed, but I'm sure they can call for back up. And they will rotate shifts in about ten minutes, leaving the place unwatched, but only for two minutes. There are also surveillance cameras in every place imaginable. However we should be able to block three of them and create a blind spot. Short of that there's a rear entrance where we can escape with the file."

_Wow, they're really prepared._

"Umm… we're just going in to grab a record and walking out" said Marika, "Right, Coorie?"

"Half right" said Coorie, "Like I said, the government of Serenity doesn't want these records actually released. So while we can look at them and get some information, we can't actually take them out."

"Right" said Hans pushing off the pillar, "Mary and I will block the cameras, you two grab the records and crack it."

"Welcome to the Serenity Archives" said the clerk with a droning voice, "What do you need?"

"Hi, I'd like to see the Serenity records for Bunzaemon Kato and the Bentenmaru," said Marika.

The clerk raised an eyebrow, "And why would you need to take a look at those?"

"Well, I'm Marika Kato of the Bentenmaru," she explained, "And our records were damaged or lost during a few of our jobs and we'd like to replace them."

"The Archives allow for viewing and use of records for historical purposes and are only accessible for those with urgent need," explained the clerk, "As you are a direct descendant, you are permitted to view records related to you directly. But the same rules apply, do not remove the record from the Archive, do not copy or fabricate the records, resist the urge to…"

_So many rules…_

"Please put your hand against the scanner."

Marika snapped out of her daze, "Sorry, what?"

"Your hand," said the clerk pointing to the device, "Put on the scanner. We need to confirm your identity. Please note that the device will also take a small blood sample to ensure you are a direct descendant of who you say you are. You'll only feel a prick…"

_Ugh… there he goes again._

"Okay, the system has cleared your access" the clerk grabbed a data pad, "Proceed to Section B, Subsection G, row 5, column 2. To get there go down that way, take a left, double back, take a right, straight, third right, second left, up the stairs, down the stairs, left of the stairs, over, under, around and through, do the hokey-pokey, turn yourself around…"

Marika's mind was filled with instructional horror.

"Got it?"

"Huh?"

"Don't worry I got it," said Coorie taking the pad, "This way everyone."

The group wound and snaked through the tall servers and up and down the flights of stairs. Eons upon eons of history and persons and culture and secrets were hidden beneath the bytes and bytes of data. Coorie led the team to a dark corner of the Archives. A quick plug in of the pad and a short download. The group took a seat at an empty table in plain view of everyone. A pair of guards carefully walked through the area with steely suspicious eyes. Hans and Mary's eyes glanced around the Archives pointing out each of the security cameras. The two of them quickly split from the group and took up nonchalant positions to block their view.

_They realize this isn't illegal right?_

Hans gave her a look that said, "Better to be sure."

Coorie's fingers tapped over the pad at the speed of light. Numbers and letters scrolled across the screen along with emblems and sigils. The name Bentenmaru appeared several times along with Marika's great grandfather.

"We've got about a minute and a half now" said Mary.

"How's things coming along, Coorie?"

"It's strange," said Coorie, "I can't find anything. It's like all the links have been broken but that's impossible. The Archive automatically links and re-links its data files continuously. Wait, here's something. The Royal Seal? Why would they put all this information behind an extra set of security."

"Can you crack it?" asked Marika.

Coorie shook her head, "It could take months to break it. This level of encryption is way out of my league. Its reserved for ultra top secret information, state secrets, black operations, and the like."

"But why would the Serenity government want to hide the Silent Night? It was just a pirate ship, nothing more, right?"

"Well now, that's the real question," smirked Coorie.

The noise of low murmurs and chatter began to grow in the archives. Marika looked around the area to find that a crowd was beginning to filter in. The was nothing odd about this crowd other than their quantity. Hans nodded at Mary and the two began to move around the table. Without warning, Coorie's datapad disappeared faster than a flash.

"What did you do?" asked Marika.

"We need to leave, now" said Hans walking out of the archives.

"Spit up, meet at the pub near the airport. Use the emergency exit" said Mary, "Good luck."

Marika and Coorie stealthily crept out the emergency exit and into the alley. As they started to emerge, a crowd began to form. Their eyes carefully examined them but they refused to make any move. For now. Marika and Coorie walked down the street toward the little pub. The crowd began to disperse and disappear, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.

The pub was dark and dank. A regular hole in the wall. Unsavoury folks from all across the system gathered around bottles of alcohol and slipped into a drunken haze. Mary was waiting at a table far from view and light.

"Good, you made it" she said.

"That crowd" noted Marika, "Any idea who they were?"

Mary shook her head.

"Hmmm" thought Coorie, "I guess it's possible that I may have tipped off the authorities. If they were going through that much effort to keep it hidden it, that's what I would do."

"That makes sense," said Marika, "Still, why would the government hide the Silent Night."

"Who cares why" said Hans stumbling to the table, "Damn thing is bursting at the seams with treasure. That's all we need to give a damn about."

Hans sported a couple new bruises and his blaster was missing.

"What happened to you?" asked Marika.

"Nothing," said Hans, "Just got into a little scuffle with those guys that appeared out of nowhere."

Hans and Mary exchanged glances.

"So what do we do now?" asked Coorie.

"You need to crack that data pad," said Mary pulling it out from under her shirt.

"Wow, how did you manage to sneak it out?"

"We have a certain set of desirable skills," said Hans, "Anyway, without a new lead we're going to be waiting for your tech genius to crack it."

Hans uncorked his flask and took a large gulp. A cloaked man walked by the table and rudely bumped into Hans, spilling rum all over his shirt. Hans jumped from his seat ready to start a brawl but quickly sat down again. He opened a small piece of paper that had fallen on the table.

"Well, we might just have a solution after all," smirked Hans, revealing the paper.

Several scratches and scribbles were strewn across the paper that meant absolutely nothing to Marika.

"Yeah, the perfect solution" she bluffed.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Mary, "The man's reputation isn't exactly spotless."

"Neither is ours" said Hans, "Er, I mean, he has his uses. Besides, we don't exactly have many options."

"So, who are we seeing?" asked Marika.

"Cypher."


	5. Chapter 4

"Who's Cypher?" asked Marika.

"He's an old friend" said Hans with a grin.

"More like a friendly enemy" said Mary.

"He an old friend" insisted Hans, "And a damn good hacker and information broker. I'll bet my shoes that he's better than Coorie here."

"I doubt that," said Coorie.

"Where do we meet him?" asked Marika.

"Right here" said Mary, "Just waiting for you two to leave."

"What? Why us?"

"Mary, take Coorie out for a drink" ordered Hans.

"But Hans –"

"No buts" said Hans bluntly, "Go."

Mary reluctantly took Coorie's hand and pulled her away to the bar. Hans nodded at Marika and began to explain the situation. Information brokers, such as Cypher, are rare individuals in the age of instantaneous data. However, their skills are exceptionally useful for uncovering little pieces that people want to keep hidden. Many brokers are hackers and splicers, but just as many are well connected individuals with friends everywhere from government to the poor and homeless. Information brokers adhere to the old adage: Knowledge is power. But their knowledge comes at a price.

"So we don't mention Silent Night" said Marika softly.

"Exactly" Hans' eyes spied off behind Marika, "Quick, act casual."

A short person dressed in black took a seat at the table. An excessively tall collar covered the lower half of his face, while a wide brimmed hat covered his eyes. Only his long, pale, Roman nose was allowed into the light. Still, light reflected off his hidden eyes creating two stars in the shadows. The shady figure cracked his knuckles in his fingerless gloves and pulled out a long knife with a saw blade on the backside.

Marika was about to leap out of her chair to challenge him. Hans grabbed her arm and held her back. He leaned in and whispered. The knife was not a threat, just a warning. The figure was just saying that the information was worth killing for and as such he must protect himself. He pushed back his jacket and revealed a long revolver. Another warning.

"Come on Cypher," said Hans, "There's no need to do this. We've done business before."

"We have" said Cypher in a nasally voice, "Not her."

"Come on, I trust her so you can trust her" said Hans extending his arms in a shrug, "You know if we can't trust each other than we can't do business."

Cypher sighed, "This will cost you double. What do you want to know?"

"We're looking the captains of the lost ships of the Original Seven," said Marika.

Cypher laughed, "You're going to be looking for a long time then. The ships are destroyed and their crews scattered with the wind. You'd have better luck finding a needle floating around the galaxy."

"Oh, so you know nothing then," insinuated Marika, "Some information broker. Our business is done here. Hans."

Hans gave her a sly smile and a look of impressed approval. As they rose from their seats Cypher yelped to bring them back.

"I know where one of the captains is" he said, "An old hermit on the edge of the Empire. Wants to be alone for the rest of his miserable life. I have his name, his coordinates, hell I even know what he has for dinner every Wednesday."

"Now we're talking" said Marika taking a seat, "Give it all to us."

"That's not how this works my dear," said Cypher, "You have to pay first."

"What do you want?" asked Hans.

"Well Hans, you have certain skills that I am in need of. And she has certain assets that would prove useful" said Cypher folding his hands devilishly.

"I don't like the sound of this" said Marika in an aside to Hans.

"Yeah" he replied, "But we might as well hear him out."

"Fear not Ms. Kato of the Bentenmaru," said Cypher removing his hat to reveal his metal eyes, "What I ask of you is not much, but very valuable to me."

"How do you know who I am?" asked Marika.

"I am an information broker, my dear" he said with a sly grin, "I know everything."

"I have a feeling about what you want" said Hans leaning back with hands behind his head, "But spit it out anyway."

"Well, I need you to take me off this planet and to another place" said Cypher, "A simple job for some rare information, no?"

"Too simple" said Marika, "Why don't you just hire a shuttle or a passenger liner?"

"Clever girl" said Cypher, "but not clever enough to put two and two together. I'm sure Hans told you of my profession. As you are aware there are those that will kill to get their hands on it, and those that will kill to keep it secret."

"But why us? And why now?" asked Marika.

"It is now too dangerous to stay here and I need to move on. Such is the life of an info broker. And Hans here is the only person with the skills to do this job. You're… more ferocious assets will also prove useful should we run into any… trouble."

"So where do you need to go?"

"To a galaxy far, far away" he smirked, "I will tell you only once you agree and I am far above this little sphere. So what do you say?"

"I don't like the looks of this guy" whispered Marika to Hans.

"I say we take him up on it," said Hans wiping his mouth with a napkin, "But it's your call."

"Sorry, but no" said Marika, "We'll find our own way, thanks."

"Damn shame" said Cypher, "How about I sweeten the deal?"

Hans tossed the napkin at his face, "Sorry, Cypher. The lady says no, so no deal."

The young pirate and the old salt excused themselves from the table and headed toward the bar. Cypher angrily pulled the napkin of his face and growled as he disappeared into the shadows.

"How'd it go?" asked Coorie.

"There's something fishy about that guy," said Marika, "There was no deal with him."

"What? He was our only other lead" protested Mary, "Why did you let her do this Hans?"

Hans took swig, "We're partners, Mary. If she doesn't want to work with him, I don't want to work with him. We'll find another way. You can still crack that data pad right?"

"Yeah, but it'll take about a month."

"Well, patience is a virtue."

"Marika, want some advice?" asked Mary, "If you want to be successful as a pirate, you have to get used to working with shady folks."

"I can't trust them" said Marika bluntly.

"I never said you had to trust them" said Mary, "Just work with them. Like the old saying, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'."

The group departed from the pub several credits lighter. Mary and Hans departed for the outskirts of the city where they allegedly landed their ship. Coorie returned to the Bentenmaru to begin cracking the archive file. Marika wandered the crowded streets of Serenity wondering what to do next. A strong arm grabbed her and pulled her into the alley.

"You should be more careful."

"Schnitzer? What did you do that for?"

"Coorie told us of the crowd of people that suddenly appeared," said Misa stepping out of the shadows, "We're not sure, but we think they're other pirates. And they're after you."

"Why would they be after me? There's a truce!"

"There was a truce," said Misa, "It expired on your graduation and when we left Tau Ceti. Don't worry, we'll keep you safe. But be careful."

Misa tossed Marika a small gun. It fit within the palm of her hand but had no bullets or cartridges, just a small battery. A light along the barrel shone a dark, blood red. Marika took the small pistol and concealed it in the breast pocket of her thick coat.

Misa nodded, "What do we do now?"

"I think we should find another information broker," said Marika.

"Information broker?" asked Misa with a little surprise.

"Yeah, Hans introduced me to one. He was a little shady for my tastes, but there's got to be one we can trust."

Misa frowned, "I wouldn't be so eager to find another broker. They'll find a way to use every single word you say against you."

"Marika," said Schnitzer, "What did you tell this one?"

"I told him nothing. At least I think I didn't" said Marika, "He did know who I was and what ship I captained however."

"We need to go, now!" said Misa grabbing Marika.

Schnizter drew his guns, "Agreed. Quickly."

The trio ran out of the alley into streets pushing their way through the crowds. A group of men in black suits appeared in the corner of her eye. Another group with large wide brimmed hats walked around a corner and began to follow them. A third appeared, then a fourth, then a fifth. Each of them were dressed uniquely and kept one hand concealed in their jackets or pockets. None of them dared to make a brazen move but they kept an uncomfortably close distance.

"Madam," said a hard voice, "May I speak with you for a moment?"

Behind the three a tall man dressed in a dark blue uniform with red striped and golden buttons stood straight and stoic. Slung over his shoulder was a long rifle and on his hip was a ceremonial sword. The crowd of suspicious people immediately dispersed.

"I'm with the Serenity Interstellar Police," he pulled out a small picture, "Have you seen this man? He has broken his parole and is considered armed and dangerous."

_It's Cypher._

"No, sorry" she said.

He nodded, "Well if you do spot him report it immediately. Thank you for your time."

"That was the guy we spoke to" whispered Marika to Misa.

"Let's hurry."

"Don't go that way" said Orvar, "Many people. Too many to fight, even for Orvar."

The giant lug took them through a series of alleys and onto a public tram. It took a couple of hours but they reached their destination. A dilapidated housing block filled with rubble and cement. There were a few indications of construction in an attempt to revitalize the section but their efforts were marginal at best. Beggars wandered about only to be scared off by big Orvar. A few others tried to take pickings from their pockets, but again Orvar made sure nothing was taken.

"What is this place?"

Mary stepped out with a cigarette burning, "Just another place forgotten by people. Why do you look surprised? You'll find these holes on every planet and every city. It's a pretty good place to hide. Remember that."

Hidden in a pile of junk was _Das Boot._ Were it not for Hans drinking and smoking on the ramp, it would have been impossible to distinguish the ship from the garbage. The inside was just as appalling. Wires and pipes crawled along the ceiling and beneath the floor. The ship was cramped and crowded, barely allowing two people to pass each other in the hallway. Orvar was hunched over as he walked the halls, but Schnitzer had the worst of it. His massive stature forced him to crawl on his hands and knees to comfortably move about. Tina appeared here and there from nooks and crannies that no one would have believed. Orvar departed shortly after and took a seat at a simple round table, barely big enough for one normal sized person. Mary led them through the round ship, passed the engine room, around the small bunks, and over several open panels in the floor until they reached the cockpit. There were only two seats and barely enough room for two others to stand.

"Everyone is here" said Mary.

Hans started to fiddle with the controls, "Anyone tail you?"

"Probably, but I didn't see them."

"Well that's all we can hope for" Hans pulled a throttle, "Welcome aboard _Das Boot_, now I suggest you strap in."

The ship rumbled and rattled. Mary stomped on the metal floor as hard as she could, making a loud crash as the metal panel was forced into place.

_This ship is falling apart._

The ship jumped from the ground and started to accelerate rapidly as it flew up toward the skies. Marika stumbled back as the ship surged forward. Anything that wasn't nailed down flew about and crashed against the walls. Suddenly the ship forced itself vertical and the engine boomed. Marika slammed against the back wall smacking her head with a dull loud thud.

"I told you to strap in."

Within minutes the ship was beginning to escape the atmosphere. Everything felt lighter as the ground got father and farther away. The blue sky became black and the world began to show its true face. Gravity disappeared and everyone was left to float nonchalantly around the cabin.

"So when does the artificial gravity kick in?" asked Misa.

"Don't have one" said Hans, "Why never been in Zero G before?"

"I have."

"I'm sorry we don't have a fancy Artificial G module," said Mary, "But don't worry you won't be here for long."

_Das Boot_ shook and rumbled with a loud crash. Outside the cockpit window, Marika saw the long hull of the Bentenmaru. Hans unbuckled from his seat and pushed himself through the air out of the cockpit. Orvar was happily drifting through the air staring out the windows while Tina glided around him tinkering with whatever she could get her hands on. As she flew nuts and bolts and screws and washers trailed behind her. Marika and the others flew into a long tube that connected the Bentenmaru to _Das Boot_. Hans and Mary pressed a button on the soles of their shoes and maneuvered themselves to stand upright in zero gravity. Marika knocked on the hatch to the Bentenmaru then pressed her ring on the console. Gravity suddenly returned and the embarking crew of the Bentenmaru came crashing down.

"Oww… why did that happen?" asked Marika.

Hans was laughing almost uncontrollably so it was up to Mary to answer. However she didn't want to waste her breath. She whistled down the hall and Tina appeared lickity-split.

"Oh, they fall for the gravity shell?" Tina giggled, "Guess you've never been on ships without Arti-G. Anyway, when a ship without Arti-G docks with a ship with Arti-G you should be careful of the sudden gravity shift. You see the computer automatically extends the artificial gravity field a few meters outside the ship after the docking procedure completes. If you don't have magnetic shoes you're going to go crashing down. Have fun!"

_Well that was informative._

"We'll meet up in Sea of the Morning Star" said Hans, "Might as well get you back home while we wait for little miss super hacker to break the Archive file."

"That also gives us time to arrange something more long term with Show" said Misa.

Marika nodded in agreement. The two ships broke away from each other and began to sail toward the edge of the system. Five ships appeared on the horizon and started to barrel toward them. Two of them had weapons powered the others diligently moved alongside the ships.

"Attention, prepare to be boarded" announced the captain of the flag.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Marika.

"Captain of the Bentenmaru," he said, "This is nothing personal, but a dangerous criminal has escaped from Serenity. We have orders to board and search all ships entering and leaving the system. Please do not resist. Any attempt to do so will be treated as an admission of guilt."

"Alright, but make it quick. We have an appointment to keep."

"Woah" said Hyakume, "That's strange. _Das Boot _is leaking some sort of radiation; I can barely get a read on them."

"Unidentified freighter, you are emitting interference. Cease and desist."

"Uhh… sorry, no can do" said Hans, "That interference is from our power core. It is leaking and we need to repair it ASAP. Boarding is not recommended."

"We will board immediately. Do not resist."

Lightly armed and uniformed men marched across the gangplank and began to sweep the ship. The crew of the Bentenmaru reluctantly tolerated the lawmen and worked around them. Marika's mind wandered back to the image of Cypher and their encounter at the pub. Alarms rang out and red light flashed.

"Report" ordered Marika.

"_Das Boot _is venting propellant and plasma" reported Hyakume, "They're starting to drift. Looks like an engine core rupture. If they don't get it under control soon they'll blow!"

"Serenity ships are moving away from them" said Misa, "Hans, evacuate the ship."

"It's fine, we're fine" he said with a little panic, "We have it under control."

"Doesn't look like he has it under control" said Kane, "We need to move away. They might be small but an engine rupture won't leave us unscathed."

"Right. Misa, tell the Serenity ship to disengage the gang plank," she ordered, "Kane, get us to a safe distance right away."

"Energy readings!"

Blue and red plasma spilled from the vents and engines of _Das Boot._ The ship tumbled in space haplessly. It seemed as if a spark ignited the plasma clouds. An explosion ripped through space. The fireball burned bright neon red before disappearing in an instant. Where the little freighter once was, there was now nothing.

"Holy mother…"

The Serenity officials finished their methodical sweep in their own time, unfazed by the event, and departed. With their partners gone and no other leads, the Bentenmaru had little choice but to return to Tau Ceti. The grand pirate ship docked with the relay station. The crew went their separate ways and it wasn't long until Marika found herself sitting in the Lamp House Café.

"What's wrong, Marika?" asked Mami, "Anything I can help with."

"No, not really" said Marika burying her face in her arms, "I just lost some friends today, the captain and the crew of _Das Boot._"

"_Das Boot?_ That gentleman there said he was on _Das Boot,_" Mami pointed to a pair of gentlemen at the bar.

"it's about time you showed up" said Hans raising his cup.

"Excellent, now we can conclude our business" said Cypher removing his hat revealing his steel eyes.

"What… how… when…" stammered Marika.

"What people don't know won't hurt them. Remember that" said Hans.

"As I said," began Cypher, "Hans has a particular set of skills that I required."

"An old trick Tina knows" said Hans moving to her table, "You can mask an FTL jump pretty damn easily by staging an engine rupture."

"But… Cypher."

"Sorry, but I wasn't exactly going to let a good lead get away. And besides, it's only illegal if you get caught. Remember that."

"Make yourself at home" chimed Mami to a small group of customers.

"Let's get down to business" said Marika, "We got you off Serenity, so it's time to fulfill your end of the deal."

"Naturally," said Cypher, "The man you have an interest in is named Nathaniel Drake. He was the captain of the Silver Stag."

"Make yourself at home."

"You said he was a hermit right" inferred Marika, "So he has to be out in the frontier systems. And somewhere lightly populated."

"Keep going girlie," said Hans, "Maybe next time I should just let you do all the talking next time."

"Not bad," said Cypher, "Care to guess which system?"

"Make yourself at home."

"Nicelene" she said confidently.

"Oh, so close" smiled Cypher, "He is on Ceti Alpha V. It's a small little imperial mining colony. You can often find him in the only cantina in the city."

"Anything else you can give us?" asked Hans.

"Not for free old friend," said Cypher, "Our deal was to get me off Serenity and I would tell you who and where to find him."

"Make yourself at home."

"Mein gott, do you have to say that every time?" asked Hans looking behind him slightly irritated.

The café was filled with people dressed in smart suits and long coats. They covered their faces with large sunglasses and popped collars. Every one of them had one hand on the table and the other hidden in a pocket. Hans slowly moved his hand to his waist while Cypher guided his into his jacket. Marika felt the little gun hidden in her sleeve, but what good was it against so many. Everyone's eyes darted around the room, fingers scratched lightly at triggers waiting for a pin to drop.

"So, can I take your order?" asked Mami innocently.

In a flash pistols and rifles and blasters whipped out from hidden holsters. Tables flipped to make haphazard cover. Tracer and laser flew through the air randomly. If it weren't for the threat to life, one may as well have thought it was a light show. Marika grabbed Mami's arm and pulled her to the ground. The four of them huddled behind a makeshift fort.

"Who's shooting at whom?" asked Cypher

"Who do you think?" shouted Marika and Hans together, "They've found me! What? Why would they be after you? They're after me! You're crazy! This has nothing to do with you, it's about me! Forget it. We can argue later, let's get out of here!"

"Wow. Did you guys rehearse that?" asked Mami seemingly oblivious to the danger.

"Mami, stay here" said Marika.

Hans stood up and threw his hands in the air, "I give up, stop shooting."

The fire stopped as the men stared at the surrendering man. The pause broke. Lasers impacted and bullets ricocheted around the café.

Hans dropped like a rock, "Okay, that didn't work."

Cypher pulled a small orb from his jacket. A small click was followed by a series of beeps.

"Best cover your eyes and ears, my dear. And shame on you Hans, you always said, 'be prepared for anything'."

Cypher tossed the high into the air. It screeched and squealed with such a high pitch it felt like her ears were about to bleed. A large concussive force pushed apart their little fort and threw small items all over the room. A blinding white flash swallowed everything. Then there was quiet. Then came the groaning and moaning. Marika uncovered herself to see the aftermath. There was no real damage but the thugs were all on the ground covering their eyes and ears while rolling around helplessly. She felt a quick hard pull on her arm.

"No time to admire the view" said Hans, "Time to get out of here."

The street was no different. Three cars skidded across the street with a loud screech. Crews of five each jumped out of the cars and opened fire at each other and at Hans and Marika. Hans threw up his arms again to announce his surrender. When his gambit failed again, he drew his blaster and started to shoot. The archaic blaster fired red bolts that melted steel and plastic. A few were lucky enough to smack into an attacker's rifle rendering it useless.

"Since our business is completed, I bid you good luck and farewell," Cypher smashed a cylinder into the ground creating a large flash. When they recovered, he was gone.

"Don't just sit there. Shoot!"

Marika pulled out the little pistol from her sleeve. She closed an eye and pointed the barrel at one of the thugs. He had green eyes, and a five o'clock shadow. It looked like he was a young man, no older than thirty. Marika started down the short barrel, her finger itched on the trigger, but she couldn't pull it. She had been on so many adventures, in several firefights, and she was certainly no stranger to life threatening situations. She felt something take her hand. It forced her finger to curl and squeeze the trigger. A large red ray streaked from the barrel and impacted the thugs' car. After a split second a fireball mushroomed and threw metal fragments in every direction. A wave of heat washed over them and a shockwave kicked their chests.

"Wow, where did you get that toy?" asked Hans releasing his grip on Marika`s hand.

"M-m-m-"

"Tell me later" Hans grabbed her arm, "Let's get out of here. Know any safe spots?"

"My house" said Marika stunned and shocked.

"Show me the way."

Marika led him down a long wide road. Not a single car was on the pavement until the roar and blare of an engine drew closer from behind. The sleek car spun around the pair before coming to an abrupt, hard halt just in front of them.

"Get in" ordered Misa.

The car sped down the road at speeds normally reserved for aircraft. Marika's hair scattered in the wind while Hans fumbled for the seatbelt.

"Any of you got a communicator or something?" said Hans over the sound of the wind.

Misa tossed a small device over her shoulder.

"Mary" shouted Hans, "You all alright? Good. Listen, our bad luck has finally caught up with us. Trace this signal and bring _Das Boot_. Be smart. See you soon. Thanks."

"Who was shooting at you?"

"Don't know" said Marika, "Could be after Hans, Cypher, me. We have no idea. Umm… Where are we going?"

"The safest place on Sea of the Morning Star" said Misa, "Wherever Blaster Ririka is."


	6. Chapter 5

The car screeched to a hard stop kicking dust into the air. Marika pushed her hair out of her face and tried to get it in a neat fashion. They arrived in a junkyard filled with military surplus scrap and destroyed vehicles. It took a while, but Marika soon recognized the area. This was the same spot Ririka taught her how to shoot, and the power a pirate holds. When the car doors slammed shut, the crew of the Bentenmaru began to appear with one other guest.

"Ririka" said Marika running to her mother.

"Are you alright?" Ririka asked embracing her daughter, "What happened?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Marika, "I don't get it. Why would they be after me?"

"We're pirates, they don't exactly need a reason" said Hans lighting a cigarette.

"Who are you?" asked Ririka defensively.

"Hans. And by the way you're scowling at me, that's all you need to know."

"We've been working with him to find an old myth" began Misa.

"Legend."

"Fine, legend. The old treasure ship, Silent Night."

"Silent Night. Hardly enough reason for a bunch of gung ho monkeys to go shooting up the city" said Ririka.

"The truce expired" said Kane, "So the Bentenmaru and her captain is up for grabs."

"There is no way pirates bearing the Letter of Marque would attack each other."

"It's not the Letter pirates we need to be concerned about," said Kane, "Here, I found this. It's a general call by the Pirates Guild for the capture of the Bentenmaru."

Marika took the page, "But I thought all pirates had a Letter of Marque."

"All legal pirates have a Letter of Marque," began Ririka, "But there are those that do piracy outside of the law and many of them have grouped together and formed the Pirates Guild. Needless to say, they aren't the biggest fans of legal pirates. So, the Pirates Guild is after the Bentenmaru, why?"

"Who can understand those buffoons" said Kane, "If I had to guess though there's probably a bounty on us."

"It wouldn't surprise me if they wanted to seize the ship" Misa turned to Marika, "Our Letter of Marque states that it can only be passed to direct descendants of the captain. Since you don't have any children, if you die the Bentenmaru would be forced to retire or become illegal pirates."

"Give up our way of life" muttered Ririka.

"If the Pirates Guild gets a hold of the ship that would be a massive boon for them" said Kane, "Our biggest priority right now should be keeping you safe. The Silent Night can wait."

Hans scowled at the idea of putting the treasure hunt off because of a few gunshots.

"The safest place for is the Bentenmaru" said Ririka, "Until this thing blows over or we find a solution you need to stay on your ship and keep a low profile. Kane, take the Bentenmaru to a far frontier system, somewhere barren and lightly populated. The Guild will probably think the Bentenmaru will stay near Tau Ceti to do its work."

A smirk cracked on Hans' face, "I know where we can go. And I'm sure Marika would agree."

"We need to get to the star port immediately" said Marika.

"Not a good idea" said Ririka, "By now they would have people surrounding the area and portably put some aircraft in the air to shoot you down."

The wind picked up and began throwing dirt and scrap into the air. A long, loud howl ran through the wind storm. Pebbles pecked at Marika's cheeks. Everyone around her drew their weapons and scurried to cover, dragging her with them. Hans just grinned in the centre of the storm laughing. A large shadow engulfed the area cast by _Das Boot. _As the freighter hovered its cargo ramp lowered with Orvar standing at the edge. The large man hunched over and through a cargo net down to create a makeshift ladder.

"I have a solution to our little problem." Hans shouted over the engines, "It's not like you have many options. Come on, jump aboard."

The pirates carefully climbed the large net with Orvar pulling them up as they got closer.

"I'll stay here and let the other Letter of Marque pirates know what's going on," Ririka grabbed Marika's arm, "Be careful and trust your instincts."

"Is that what your instincts say about Hans," asked Marika.

Ririka nodded, "Remember what I told you about pirates and power."

_The power of the pirate comes from choice. And every choice has a concequence._

When Marika boarded the ship she was immediately rushed to a far corner and strapped into a small seat. The others were around her holding the straps tight. The ship rumbled and shook. The force of gravity shifted, pulling them toward their seats. Metal panels and nuts and bolts fell around the ship. Mary simply walked on by stomping them into place or slipping them into her pockets. The first mate double checked all the straps of her guests before taking her spot.

"Don't worry. You won't be here for long" she said.

BOOM!

_Das Boot_ charged into the heavens creating a massive wake behind it. Its engines burned brightly, becoming its own little star as the ship escaped orbit.

The senior crew of the Bentenmaru sat with the crew of _Das Boot_ in the mess hall. A questionable meat sat in a plastic tray with the versatile spork waiting in the wings. Hans and his crew were mesmerized by the supposed food before them.

"So why exactly are they here again?" asked Hyakume.

"Look, we pulled you guys off the planet and saved you a fight with whoever is after you" said Mary with her arms crossed, "The least you could do is give us dinner."

"Sorry it's not that good," said Marika, "But if you sprinkle a little salt on it, it's not that bad."

"It's hot" said Orvar, "And moist."

"I think it's beef, Orvar," said Tina, "Yup, definitely beef."

"Really?" said Mary astonished, "Oh my god, that's so good. Was this freeze dried and dehydrated before?"

"Uhh… no."

"Savour it while it lasts," said Hans, "We might not be able to come back for a bite in a long while."

"Oh, no" said Marika, "You can come by any time."

"Now you've done it" smirked Hans.

Misa cleared her throat, "So, we need to head to the frontier as soon as possible. Have we heard anything from Show? We need to get at least one job done before our license expires."

"Nothing yet, I hope he's not on vacation or something" said Marika, "As for a system to escape to, we need to set a course to Ceti Alpha."

"Why Ceti Alpha?" asked Kane.

"Our next lead puts us there," said Marika, "According to Cypher, the captain of the Silver Stag, Nathaniel Drake, is living a hermit life there. We kill two birds with one stone this way."

The plan was set and everything was starting to go into motion. After dinner the crew of _Das Boot_ departed to their zero-g home. Before Marika could retire to her quarters, Misa quickly reminded her that a she needed to secure a long term job in Ceti Alpha to ensure their licence stays valid.

The captain's quarter was nothing more than a large meeting room attached to a small bedroom. A long golden wooden table was in the centre of the room with two blue benches on either side. The head of the table faced Marika's desk where the Jolly Roger draped behind her. The Jolly Roger of the Bentenmaru was a skull resting on top of a lute. The skull's red bandana streamed around the lute. An assortment of weapons and a ship's wheel hung on the eastern wall. To the west was a large chest with the sigil of the Bentenmaru painted on its front. In the four corners was a single old style lantern that served only as decoration while the fluorescent lights above illuminated the room. Marika took her seat behind the desk and opened a communications channel.

"Yo, you've got a hold of the Harold Lloyd Insurance Union. I'm the head agent, Show."

"Hi Show, did you get my message? I was –"

"I am currently unavailable at the moment…"

"God damn it!"

The image began to laugh uncontrollably, "I'm sorry, captain but I couldn't resist. I did get your message. So, where will you be going off to?"

"Ceti Alpha."

"Cetia Alpha" said Show with a little confusion, "There ain't nothing there except a little mining outpost. What in the universe could you be doing there?"

_Best if he doesn't know for now. What he doesn't know won't hurt him right?_

"Just some pirate business" said Marika trying to dodge the question, "So is there anything we can do out there?"

Show grabbed a bunch of papers and data pads. The agent shuffled through the pages and riffled through blocks of text.

"No, sorry. I ain't got nothin'" he said, "If you need a quick job though, the Princess Apricot is available in about seven days."

_I guess more of the same isn't bad._

"Okay, we'll take that one" said Marika, "But if anything pops up around Ceti Alpha, please let us know."

"Sure thing" said Show before disappearing.

_Well, Hans'll be less than pleased._

"What do you mean there are no jobs in Ceti Alpha" shouted Hans, "You're a pirate! Who cares what some big shot in an office says!"

"I'm sorry, but keeping the Letter of Marque valid must take priority," replied Marika sternly, "This is the livelihood of my crew after all."

"Fine, stay in Tau Ceti if that's what you want" said Hans, "I'm taking my ship to Ceti Alpha with or without you. You'll see us again there or maybe you won't. So you better hurry."

"I hope you don't plan on taking Silent Night without us."

"Couldn't even if I wanted to. You have the Boatswain's Call. And a deal is a deal. Hans, out."

_Well, it went better than I expected._

The crew of the Bentenmaru was about to exit hyperspace. Coorie stretched her fingers as she prepared to seize their client's systems. Schnitzer primed his rifle and waited at the gangplank with the boarding party. Marika sat regally at her post and cleared her throat.

"Dropping out of FTL in 3… 2… 1," said Kane.

The Bentenmaru appeared in an instant. Marika smirked as she imagined the cheers and shouts of the excited passengers. Coorie`s fingers danced over the keys as system and subsystem fell to her digital attack. The lights on the cruise ship fell like dominoes plunging everyone into darkness. Marika began her extravagant speech, fumbles and stutters and all.

"We are about to board your vessel" announced Marika, "Resistance –"

"Energy readings!" shouted Hyakume, "Something is dropping out of hyperspace."

"This isn't part of the job," said Marika, "We need to be careful. All hands to battle stations."

Hyakume peered at the sensor readings, "It's not bigger than a frigate."

The ship drifted out of subspace. It was long and sleek like the blade of a broadsword. The hull was painted white with a long black stripe tracing the edge. Despite its small size the vessel was heavily armed. Missile turrets lined the port and starboard, while a pair of beam cannons stuck out from the front like fangs.

"Hailing frequencies are open" said Coorie, "They're broadcasting on all channels."

"Hans! You're debt's come calling! We know you're there! Ain't no use pretending to be high class any more. Come out with your hands up and I promise that what waits for you will be painless. Well, less painful."

A fat man with a bushy brown beard filled with crumbs. A black eye patch covered his right eye and three scars scratched his left.

"This is Marika Kato of the Bentenmaru. Identify yourself."

"So you've swindled another captain have you? Listen girlie, whatever he paid you the man I work for will give you double if you hand him over."

"This Hans fellow you're looking for isn't here. I suggest you go on your way."

"Bullshit! We paid good cash for this information, so hand him over or we'll have to punch a few big holes in your pretty hull before we take him off that pretty little luxury liner of yours."

Kane laughed, "They want to take us on in that thing?"

"Huh, almost no electronic warfare defense" said Coorie, "Amateurs."

_We haven't blown the Boatswain's Call, or made any mention of Silent Night outside of our ships. Why are they after Hans? _

"Schnitzer, I need you back on the bridge. Our little boarding party will have to wait for a bit."

"Understood, captain."

"They're charging weapons" reported Coorie.

"We're giving you one last chance. Hand him over!"

_If they won't leave, we'll make them part of the show._

"Captain, this is the Bentenmaru. I'm sure you realize how much more powerful our ship is than yours. You are in no position to make threats. The Princess Apricot is a prize worthy of one of the Original Seven, not some nameless pirate," Marika sighed, "Schnitzer show them our teeth."

The Bentenmaru's cannon batteries rose out from their shelters and began to charge. The pirate captain growled and his ship fired a salvo of missiles. The warheads soared through space leaving a trail of combusted material. Explosions peppered the hull. 'Twas but a scratch for such a mighty vessel. Marika pointed to the frigate and Schnitzer obliged. Massive beams bolted across the bow. Perhaps a little overkill for a warning shot, but these pirates would only understand force.

The warning fell on deaf ears. The frigate fired its beam cannons, melting the outer sections of the hull. But in the grand scheme the damage was minor. The bulkheads sealed and the crew immediately took to their emergency stations putting out small fires.

"If you want a fight we'll give you one. Coorie, Schnitzer, if you please."

Coorie's GUI blipped and beeped as she took control of the frigate's systems with ease. Within a split second the ship had completely powered down and was left drifting in space. Schnitzer pressed a single button and a single cannon fired. The green beam crashed into the prow of the ship, obliterating its two beam cannons.

"Get those engines back online" shouted the captain.

"Coorie."

"Sure thing" said Coorie releasing control of the engines.

"Schnitzer, give them another scare."

Another beam shot across the bow. The little frigate turned as fast as its engines could push it. Cursing the name 'Marika Kato' and her ship, the little ship jumped into hyperspace with its tail between its legs. The rest of the job went by spectacularly. The guests saw the entire battle from the ball room and believed it to be part of the show. The captain of the Apricot Princess himself had come to Marika to offer her a small gift as a bonus.

"Another satisfied customer" said Marika relaxing in her captain's seat.

"We're getting a call from Show" said Misa, "Put him through?"

Marika nodded, "Hello."

"Yo, Marika about that job you wanted me –"

"You have reached the voice and vid mail of Marika Kato. I am probably engaged in some piracy at the moment but if you leave a message after I beep I will call you back as soon as I can. See you! BEEEEEP!"

"Yo, Marika. It's Show. I've got a job for you in the Ceti Alpha system so call me back ASAP. You dig?"

"Wow, you found us a job already?"

"What? Oh man, you were there the whole time. I can't believe I fell for that," Show shook his head, "Anyway, yeah I found a job for you in Ceti Alpha. You want it?"

"Yeah" said Marika, "But can you give me a few more details?"

"I could, but I think it would be better if you heard if from the client. Putting you through on conference call, you dig."

A familiar face came through the static. She had long straight blond hair that she tied with a thick, long red bow while keeping the lovely bangs. Her kind aqua eyes welcomed Marika warmly along with her large smile. Around her neck was a simple black ribbon with a golden fleur-di-lis hanging from it. While the image only showed her just passed the shoulders, the young woman was dressed professionally in a navy blue suit.

"Jenny. Long-time no see" said Marika.

"Indeed," smiled Jenny Dolittle, "How have you been? Keeping out of trouble I hope."

"It's a pirate's life, trouble is part of everyday. It looks like you're doing well."

"Not as well as I hoped," her smile shrank, "Which is why I'd like the help of you and your crew. Someone has been boarding my freighters and stealing their cargo around the frontier systems. Now, I can't afford to create my own personal security forces at the moment so I was hoping that I could rely on the Letter of Marque pirates. The contract is only for a couple of weeks so you won't be away from Tau Ceti for very long. We can also afford a sizable payment for –"

"Hey Jenny, they were out of Neapolitan ice cream so I just got vanilla. Hope you don't mind."

A tall boyish girl walked across the background. Her short, light brown hair was a good looking mess that framed her face. What makeup she wore was minimal, only emphasising certain key features such as her blue-violet eyes.

"Thanks Lynn," said Jenny, "Sorry about that Marika. Who knew working from home would be such a hassle."

Marika waved it off, "Oh don't worry about it."

"Who you talking to?" asked Lynn looking into the vid screen, "Oh, hey Marika. Oh crap. Sorry, didn't know this was a business call."

"Hi Lynn" said Marika, "How have you been?"

"Doing great. I should probably let you two get back to your discussion. Sorry for intruding" Lynn pecked Jenny on the cheek.

Jenny grabbed her by the red bowtie to plant a passionate kiss on her lips, "We'll have to have a stern talk about interrupting my business calls."

"I look forward to it" said Lynn walking off the screen.

"Oh you two" said Marika uncomfortably.

"Yes, well then," said Jenny, "I hope you find this little job of mine acceptable."

"Absolutely. I'm always happy to help my friends," said Marika,"But mind if I ask what Fairy Jane is doing out in the frontier? I thought your company was a travel company, not shipping."

"I can't tell you everything, Captain Kato. Corporate secrets, you know" winked Jenny, "But as my company continues to grow I thought it best to diversify the services it provides. Additionally, the Galactic Empire has been encouraging immigration to the frontier to develop the colonies. Naturally, a travel company is apt to help fill the demand."

"Alright" Marika stood up, "Set a course for Ceti Alpha."

"Thank you Marika," Jenny's smile returned, "I'll send you some data about the ships currently working in that area and what little we know about the raider. Good luck."

"I'll finalize the contract for you from here" said Show, who everyone forgot was also on the call, "Also another piece of good news. By my calendar, this job extends into your next fifty day licence period. So you won't need to worry about hurrying back to find another job to keep you licence active. Of course, I'd like you to keep working, you dig? Good luck."

"Course is set" reported Luca pulling the navigation visor over the eyes.

"Alpha and Beta reactors are ready" said San-daime, "FTL is spooled and ready to go."

"On your order captain" said Kane.

"Jump!"

Marika's pirate ship arrived a few hours ago and rendezvoused with a Fairy Jane freighter. A long square ship with a bridge like the head of a bird lumbered alongside the Bentenmaru. The hull lights illuminated the company sigil painted on the dorsal steel plates. Another set of lights revealed the ship's name: Slow and Steady.

"Thanks for watching over us, Captain Kato."

"No worries. So what's your cargo?"

"Industrial goods mostly. Mining drills, fuel, and other materials. We've got some consumer goods too, but not much."

"Why would pirates want this cargo?" asked Marika rhetorically.

"Scrap sells" said the captain of the freighter, "I guess if an outpost was desperate enough they'd buy them at any price."

Hyakume turned in his seat, "There's a blip on our sensor readings. I can't tell what it is though."

"Battle stations?" asked Schnitzer.

"It might be nothing," said Marika, "But to be safe have everyone on standby. Prime the point defense weapons. Slow and Steady, we've picked up a ghost on our sensors."

"Understood, we'll keep our eyes open and FTL primed. Thank you, captain."

Marika pulled up the limited data she had. The raider was never spotted until it was directly on top of the victim. Engagements rarely lasted over five minutes. Damages were minor, mostly inflicted by blasters, which disabled FTL engines and sensors. Freighters were ordered to dump their cargo which was quickly gathered by their assailant. The raider was somewhere between the size of a corvette and a frigate. Data on additional armament, speed, maneuverability, and other characteristics were fragmented since sensors were knocked out almost immediately. Reports on the raid leader were conflicting. Some captains reported it to be a man, others a woman, some claimed him fluent, and while others mentioned that it spoke broken sentences.

"I've got a subspace rift opening up" said Hyakume, "Looks like a ship coming out of FTL."

"Power up weapons," ordered Marika, "Don't fire right away. It could be a civilian."

"Slow and Steady reports it is ready to jump at a moment's notice" said Misa.

"It's jamming right out of subspace" said Hyakume with a hint of impression, "As far as I can tell it's about the size of a corvette, that's it."

"Open hailing frequencies" ordered Marika, "Unidentified vessel, this is the pirate ship Bentenmaru. Be warned there are raiders in the area and we are authorized to use force to ensure the safety of ships in this sector. State your intentions."

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and sky."

"What are they talking about?" asked San-daime.

"And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by."

_Why is that familiar._

"Das Boot?"

"The one and only" said Hans.

"Why are you jamming us, Hans?"

"I'm not jamming you. I'm jamming everyone. The frontier is a dangerous place and you should always be on your guard. Remember that. Also, you mentioned yourself that a raider has been picking on freighters, and mine may look oh so tempting."

"So have you heard of any raiders out here picking on Fairy Jane ships?"

"Nope, sorry. I say let Fairy Jane deal with it themselves, we've got bigger fish to catch."

"No Hans" said Marika definitively, "We took this job and we're going to finish it. A deal is a deal right?"

"That's right. Well, we'll have to give you a hand then won't we? Hey freighter what's your destination?"

"Ceti Alpha V. Thanks stranger, we'll take all the help we can get."

The small flotilla sailed the empty void toward the fifth planet from the sun. Ceti Alpha V was a medium sized planet with a single large continent surrounded by the sea. Orbiting above the planet was a lonely communications satellite. Slow and Steady lazily lumbered into orbit and prepared to descend into the atmosphere.

"Marika, _Das Boot_ is requesting to come alongside. They're wondering who will be coming aboard to come down to the planet."

"So who wants to go?" asked Marika crossing her legs in her seat.

Schnitzer grunted. The last times he boarded Das Boot were very uncomfortable for a man of his massive size.

"I'll go with you, captain" said Kane, "Hyakume, why don't you join us."

"Sure. I could do with some time on land," Hyakume's screen flashed, "We've got something dropping out of subspace."

"Our raider is a little late" said Kane.

"It's the size of a destroyer. Could our info be wrong?"

"If a ship can make itself seem bigger, it's just as possible that one can make itself seem smaller too" said Coorie, "What are your orders, captain?"

Before she could utter a word the destroyer fired a large volley of rail gun fire. The kinetic charges crashed into the green shield rocking the ship. The destroyer began to turn to show its broadside. The Bentenmaru charged its lasers and prepared its missile batteries. The crew immediately took to their stations. Coorie started to hack and slice into the other ships systems, methodically shutting down circuits, and relays and systems. San-daime rerouted power, pushing the Bentemaru to the limits. Kane threw the wheel and guided the ship to dodge the next attack.

"Das Boot is spooling their FTL. It looks like they're running."

"Are you kidding me?"

"They won't be able to do much anyway" said Schnitzer, "Retreat is their best option."

"We'll worry about them later" said Marika, "Slow and Steady, hurry your descent. We won't let this guy get close."

"Acknowledged."

Green beams splashed against the blue shield of the destroyer. The ship continued its turn undeterred. The rocket batteries swivelled to face their target. The little boosters ignited and like a swarm of bees the rockets zigzagged across the space. Several rockets were picked off by the point defense, but most crashed harmlessly against the shield and armour.

"There goes Das Boot. Wait, there they are again."

The little armed freighter disappeared for an instant as it entered hyperspace. Seconds later is reappeared again, at point blank range with the destroyer. The two laser turrets rained on the destroyer. The red bolts splashing harmlessly against the shield.

"Bug bites" said Schnizter.

The rocket turrets turned and fired at Das Boot. The little ship pulled away and slipped into hyperspace once again. The confused warheads scattered in every direction before bursting. Das Boot appeared again and continued its annoying attack. When the destroyer would retaliate the freighter would perform its little micro-jumps and dodge safely away. The Bentenmaru fired another volley, shattering the shields.

"Looks like those bug bites did more than you give it credit for."

"It's sending a message" reported Coorie.

"Jam it."

"All ships… Kato… Bentenmaru… aiding and abetting… bounty… Ceti… die…"

Das Boot's flurry of bolts picked away at the destroyer breaking off its long satellite dish. Another burst destroyed the sensor array. The Bentenmaru fired its cannons and caused a massive explosion in the target's engines. The destroyer began to drift, vomiting engine propellant as it went.

"That's it, they're dead in the water" said Schnitzer.

"Okay" said Marika letting out a breath, "Send a message to the authorities and put us into orbit around –"

"Missiles away!"

"What?!"

"Das Boot fired all its remaining missiles and continued to fire its laser cannons. The fire was concentrated and created a large hole in the hull around the reactor core," reported Schnitzer.

"Hans, what are you doing?" shouted Marika, "The ship is disabled, let the military and police deal with it now."

"Torpedo!"

The massive ordnance flew straight into the hull breach. A massive explosion tore apart the hull and created a large fireball. The ship began to buckle and break at the breach. Plasma and propellant gushed out like blood, drifting toward the flames. In an instant everything ignited. The explosion completely ripped apart the metal and armour before melting it a flash. Balls of molten metal streaked across the stellar seas like shooting stars before petering out just as quickly as they came to life. All that remained was a cloud of smoke and ash and heated gas.

"That solves your raider problem" said Hans, "Now let's get to the surface. We have an appointment to keep, no?"

"Damn it, Hans. That ship was disabled and no longer a threat, why did you do that?" demanded Marika.

"The job was to deal with the raider. I dealt with him, job's done, deal's done. If it makes you feel better, just think about all the lives he took while raiding and call it poetic justice."

"It wasn't right. There was no reason to –"

"Are you coming to the surface or not? I'm tired of waiting. Every second we spend talking up here, is another second someone else gets closer to us. So make the damn call. You going or staying?"

"You have permission to dock. Kane, Hyakume, get ready. We're going down to find Nathaniel Drake."


	7. Chapter 6

Das Boot screamed toward the settlement and hit the ground hard. The cargo ramp lowered and let in the fresh mountain air. Das Boot landed in a makeshift airport, which was nothing more than a communications tower in the middle of a clearing. The area was surrounded by a dense wood filled with evergreens and perennial trees. The grass was a strange blue-green, and the roads than ran from the area were dirt or gravel. Black smoke rose in the distance from foundries and processing plants beside a complex, industrial, mine.

Hans and Orvar were fixed on getting to the cantina. The two men were lightly armed, but for Orvar his biggest weapons were his fists. The group entered the small town. There was nothing really unique about it, essential services here and there, the odd place to eat, the cantina, and a several places of communal housing. A siren blared signalling the end of the day. Men and women covered in dirt and dust marched out of the mine and threw their equipment and helmets on to racks. Many of them returned home, others did a little shopping, but those that went into the cantina were of the most interest.

Orvar pushed the door open, slamming it into the wall. The building was just a large sheet metal shack with all the necessary implements. In the center was a round circular counter that surrounded bottles and bottles of multi-coloured liquids. A pair of bar tenders ran around the shelves pouring drinks while the waitresses scurried about. Credit chits were drunkenly thrown about and left scattered on the tables and floors.

"So, who are we looking at here" asked Kane taking a seat.

"That guy over there at the bar" pointed Hans.

He was a very, old man with a face covered in deep wrinkles. The hair on his head had long disappeared, only his grey, pencil moustache and wispy beard remained. The bright exuberance that may have filled his eyes long ago had faded into a matte, listless, blue with a dark yellow corona. A thick woolen poncho, bearing images of stags, covered most of his clothes. From what they could see, he dressed simply. A thick grey shirt, cargo pants, miner's boots, and a wide belt, and a long thread that hung around his neck. The old man stared into his shot of whiskey, nursing it, never daring to take a sip.

"Alright" said Marika rising from the table, "Let's go talk to him. Hi there! I'm –"

Orvar grabbed her, "Not yet. Too many ears."

He was right. Everywhere Marika looked were suspicious eyes, and hungry ears. It may be unlikely and all those skirmishes could be unrelated, but Silent Night was not something to be spoken of freely.

"Oh hey, what do you want?" grumbled the waitress.

"Mary!" exclaimed Marika, "What are you doing here?"

"Working, so what do you want?"

"Hans looked at Mary disapprovingly, "Mary, what have I told you about going undercover?"

She rolled her eyes, "Play the part as best you can, even if you hate it."

"Remember that, Marika. I'll take a beer."

"Uh-huh" Mary grimaced, "And what about the rest of you?"

"Mary" said Hans annoyingly disappointed.

"Marie, I hope you're not harassing these good folks" said another waitress, "Sorry, she'd had a rough couple of weeks. How about a round on the house."

Hyakume smirked, "That sounds great."

"Y'all are spacefarers?"

"Yeah, want to come on my ship? I can show you all the stars of the galaxy and sights you never thought possible" said Hans.

"Thank for the offer honey, but the last man that offered me that left me stranded on a planet. And now I'm working tables to try to pay my fare off."

"You could still come on my ship" smirked Hans, "I could take you wherever you want to go."

"Nice try."

"What's your name?" asked Kane with a smile.

"Trisha. And I'll be right back."

Trisha was tall, blonde, and buxom. Her blue eyes, and white smile lit up the room like a thousand fireflies and her little accent gave her a hint of old fashioned sophistication despite her humble status. A small black apron wrapped around the front of her light brown skirt. The top two white buttons of the white collared shirt were almost always open.

"Learn anything new while working here?" asked Hans.

"These schmucks don't tip" said Mary, "Kinda feel sorry for the girls here. But you don't care about that. Nathaniel has a sweet spot for little Trisha there. But other than that there isn't much to say. Poor place, poor people. I gotta get back to working, before the old man gets antsy. Ugh."

Kane waited for Mary to leave, "When she said old man, did she mean the manager, or Hans?"

"Laugh it up, Flyboy," said Hans, "So, what's the plan."

"Why don't we just follow him home?" asked Marika.

"That would draw some attention" said Kane, "Six armed people following an elderly man home, doesn't exactly scream friendly neighbor out for a stroll."

"Besides, did you see any said private homes anywhere?" asked Hans, "I sure didn't."

"Maybe we could bring him out back" suggested Hyakume.

"Oh, that just screams mugger" said Hans.

"That's true," Marika nodded, "And with a town this small, I'll bet everyone knows everyone. No matter what we do we're going to stick out like sore thumbs. If we pull him outback, everyone will be after us. No doubt about it."

"So I guess the ideal would be to push everyone out and keep us in."

"We can't exactly start a fire or create another emergency" said Marika, "We could just wait him out."

"That could work" said Hans, "I can hold my liquor pretty well, how about the rest of you?"

"Liquor isn't the problem" said Hyakume, "How much cash we have is."

"Right, forgot about that" said Hans thinking of the few credits he has.

"Also, what if he leaves before the rest do" asked Kane, "Wait, didn't Mary take any notes about his habits?"

"It's kind of hard to notice things when men are groping at you while you try to fill a thousand and one orders" she said as she scurried to another table, "Also, his drinking time changes every day. Can't plan around it."

_I wonder if he knows that people will be after him._

The group continued to discuss their little plan. Round after round of alcohol made its way to the table, and empty bottles found their way back. Marika deliberately paced herself. When the men finished their fifth, Marika was still sipping at her first. Luckily, their boast was not just bravado. Despite the free flow of alcohol, their wits remained about them.

A blast of buck shot blew out some lights and rang out with a deafening bang. Everyone in the building instinctively dove for cover. Orvar charged across the room and flipped a table, spilling drink and food everywhere.

"You will never take Orvar alive! Who dares to challenge Orvar! Hand over all your valuables!" he bellowed firing another blast, "Cowards, run! Run!"

"What the hell is he doing?" shouted Kane.

"How the hell do I know?" replied Hans.

"What do we do now?" panicked Hyakume.

"Let's do what we do best" said Marika drawing her pistol, "Hold it, Orvar! You're raiding days are over. Come with quietly and your punishment will be lessened."

"Little girl challenges Orvar? Ha!" the musclebound man fired another shot.

"Everyone get out of here" said Kane drawing his weapon and leaping behind cover, "Leave this to the Imperial Detention Force."

The patrons and miners ran and crawled out of the bar. Orvar fired a few more round to rush the people out. The stream became a stampede with shouts and yells drowning out the shotgun blasts. Nathaniel Drake hobbled out of his seat and tried to make toward the exit.

"Dammit, Orvar. Why'd you have to scare them off" shouted Hans, "Now we've only got this old coot as leverage."

Hans grabbed the old man and pressed his pistol to his back, "Let us go lawmen and this one gets to live."

"Let him go. The Empire doesn't negotiate with terrorists" declared Marika over the last fleeing patrons.

"And that's the last of them" said Hyakume closing the door.

"Good let's get down to business then," Hans pressed the barrel harder, "You are Nathaniel Drake of the Silver Stag. One of the Original Seven Captains. And we have some questions for you."

"I got nothing" said Nathaniel, "I'm just an old man. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bullshit!"

"Hans, let him go" ordered Marika, "Now!"

"Fine" Hans plopped the old man on his bar stool, "But we're not leaving until we get some answers."

"I told you I don't know anything."

"And I think you're lying."

"Maybe another name will jog his memory," Mary walked out of the shadows, "Silent Night."

Nathaniel Drake's face turned pale.

"Good, now we know for sure you're Drake" said Mary, "Why don't you make this easy and give us the little map piece."

"That's a myth. Nothing more."

"It's not a myth" said Marika, "We've already found the map pieces."

"And who are you, girl?"

"Captain Marika Kato of the Bentenmaru."

Nathaniel Drake dropped his act. His voice became gruff and hard, "So the other Captains have finally decided to open Pandora's Box. No, you won't get my piece. I'll take it to the grave."

"That can be arranged" said Orvar.

"Wait," said Hans, "Dead men tell no tales."

"Why don't you want us to find Silent Night?" asked Marika,"Why keep all the treasure buried away?"

"You're captain of the Bentenmaru, you should know" he said with a huff, "You're wasting your time. You ain't getting anything from me."

Hans grabbed the old man and shook him violently, "I'm not leaving without that piece. Now give it to me or I'll have Orvar break it out of you!"

"No!" shouted a small feminine voice.

Mary pointed her gun at the bar, "Come on out."

"Trisha" said Kane.

"Trisha, don't worry, I won't let anything happen to Mr. Drake," said Marika, "But I think you should get out of here. This is pirate's business."

"Pirates?! I thought you only did shows on cruise ships and such" she said carefully walking around the bar.

"That's true, but this one is special. Buried treasure always stirs a pirate's heart. Now go on home, please."

Trisha slowly made her way to the door. Mary's eyes met Hans'. Without a word said Orvar blocked the exit and grabbed the waitress roughly. Trisha struggled against the burly arm. Orvar smacked her with the butt of his shotgun. Her shouts went silent. Trisha's eyes quivered, begging to be let go.

"You let her go!" shouted Drake throwing off his poncho.

His grey shirt was open revealing his metal body. The armour was thick and grey, but time had speckled it with rust and scars. Painted on his left breast was a large silver stag. A holster ejected from his left side revealing an antiquated pistol with ornate gold and jewel designs. His black gloved hand reached for the weapon.

"Ah, ah, ah" said Hans, "Reach for that and little miss here ends up as a red mist. Savvy?"

"Hans, this isn't right! This isn't what pirates do!" shouted Marika.

"This isn't what pirates do today" he countered, "Back in this old salt's time, this was a Tuesday. Isn't that right?"

"Yes" grumbled Drake, "But we had honor. Especially the captain of the Bentenmaru."

Marika levelled her pistol at Hans, "Let her go or I'll shoot."

Immediately Mary pointed her barrel at Marika, forcing Kane and Hyakume to threaten her. Everyone's finger was pressed against the trigger. The slightest move would ignite the powder keg. Hans looked at his precarious situation and just smiled. Step by step he made his way to Marika.

"Let her go" she demanded.

Hans smirked and pressed his chest against the barrel, "No."

Marika pressed her finger against the trigger and started to squeeze.

"Hold it!" shouted Mary, "You pull that trigger and I'll blow a new hole in you."

"You won't get a chance to do that" said Kane.

"Easy, Orvar" said Hyakume.

"Now, now everyone this is no way for partners to act. I'll tell you what, I'll make you a deal," smirked Hans has he led Marika's barrel down to his thigh, "All you need to do is pull the trigger and Orvar will let her go and we'll do this your way. It's a shot to my thigh, it'll hurt like hell, but I won't die. So no guilt. Go on, pull it."

Marika glared into Hans' eyes. The barrel pushed deeper and deeper into his flesh. The chamber was armed and the bullet silently screamed to be let loose. Marika's finger twitched and shook. Hans continued to smirk, waiting for the fateful decision to be made.

The pistol dropped to her side. With the exception of Orvar, all the guns dropped safely away from their targets.

"Well then, let's continue with our little business," said Hans, "Orvar, take the girl into the room. I'll give you five minutes."

Orvar roughly pulled Trisha away.

"What are you going to do to her?" asked Drake, his hand itching to grab his weapon.

"I'm not going to do anything" said Hans, "But if you don't give me the map piece in five minutes, well, I don't know what Orvar will do. But if I remember the last time, he'll start with the legs."

"Hans" started Kane.

"No, no, you don't get to negotiate. Marika didn't pull the trigger, so we're doing it my way. Four minutes, twenty seconds."

"You're a real bastard, you know that" grumbled Drake, "Fine, take it."

Drake pulled on the thread around his neck revealing a large diamond piece of metal. A maze of circuits wound their way over the metal and around a light blue crystal. Marika looked more closely. Etched into the crystal was the flag of Nathaniel Drake. The old pirate put the trinket on the table and gave Hans a hard look. He whistled loudly, summoning Orvar and the girl back.

"Go on now" he said, "Unlock it."

"I need the Boatswain's Call."

"I have it" Marika pulled out the whistle.

Nathaniel Drake put the metal between his lips. He played a series of quick rapid notes that jumped from pitch to pitch. A hologram appeared, bathed in an ocean blue light. It was a young man dressed in a naval uniform.

"Voice print identification required" said the hologram mechanically.

"Captain Nathaniel Drake of the Silver Stag. One of the Original Seven," Drake took a deep breath and sang, "My son John was tall and slim and he had a leg for every limb. Now he's got no legs at all, they both blown away by a cannon ball with a roo, rum, rye, faddle diddle die. Whack fiddle diddle with me roo rum rye."

"Captain Drake, it has been 105 years, 6 months, 10 days, 5 hours, 23 minutes, and 30 seconds since your last log in. What is it you require?"

"Reveal Silent Night" he said with a tear in his eye.

"Additional validation required."

Nathaniel Drake licked his lips and played another series of notes from the whistle.

"Boatswain's Call acknowledged."

The little man disappeared and a system flashed into existence. A single star system with a dwarf star at its centre. Surrounding the star were ten planets. Four were gas giants of red, blue, green, and yellow. Three were small rocky planets, incapable of supporting life. Two were medium sized planets engulfed in flame and magma. The last was planet, almost too small to be called one, surrounded by clouds of toxic, nauseous gases. The faint FTL trail came into vision. The numbers followed immediately after: 22041782.

Drake hung his head low, "You got what you wanted. Now get off this rock."

"Don't mind if we do" said Mary swiping the trinket.

"Let me warn you" said Drake, "The Silent Night is no treasure ship. It is something much more sinister."

"I've got bigger things to worry about than ghost ships" said Hans, "Thanks for the piece."

"Why" asked Marka, "What makes is so sinister?"

"It was one of a kind. And it's kind can end worlds" said Drake, "And the original captain of the Bentenmaru saw that."

"Let's get out of here," Hans tossed a handful of credit chits toward Trisha, "Always tip your waitresses. Remember that."

The flight back to the Bentenmaru was filled with silence and suspicion. Hands rested on guns while eyes fixed on each other. Marika sat beside Hans in the cockpit. The tension between the two was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

"You're a pirate right?" asked Hans.

"Of course I am" replied Marika harshly.

"Then you should know that a pirate does whatever it takes to get what they want."

"That's not how we work."

"Then you won't last long against real pirates."

"We are real pirates!"

"Not with what I saw. You won't sink a ship, you won't pull the trigger to make a man stop, it makes me wonder what you can do."

"We can fight."

Hans laughed, "Fight, but you won't kill. We're docking."

The freighter rumbled as the gangplank locked into place. Kane and Hyakume were escorted to the airlock. Marika floated toward the exit.

"Here's a piece of advice, kid" said Hans, "Don't threaten unless you will follow through, otherwise you won't be taken seriously the next time."

"You threatened to kill Trisha. Would you have done it?"

When Marika stepped aboard she was greeted with the sound of alarms and the rapid patter of running feet. Crewmen grabbed their weapons and took to their stations. Marika quickly made her way to the bridge. Five unidentified ships waited across the sea. The little fleet was led by a large battleship that was archaic in its design. The vessel was long and rectangular without a single smooth edge. The ship was covered in thick armoured plates and brimming with ballistic cannons and flak. It bridge was nothing more than a thick, stumpy, tower rising out of the rear. The engine was a long thin line at the rear. Alongside the battleship were four corvettes that were nothing more than smaller copies of their elder brother.

"What's going on?" asked Marika.

"They dropped out of hyperspace a few minutes before you arrived," said Coorie, "They haven't done anything yet."

"Ready all weapons" ordered Marika.

"Now, now, Captain Kato let's not do anything hasty" said a dark, familiar voice.

"Wow, he cut through our comms systems like it was nothing" said Coorie slightly impressed, "It'd be easy to cut him off though. Want me to?"

"No" said Marika, "Identify yourself."

"Marika," said Luca softly, "I've just got a set of coordinates from _Das Boot_. We can jump immediately."

"Spool the FTL, be ready to jump, but we aren't going yet. Identify yourself!"

"Is that anyway to greet the man who told you where to find Nathaniel Drake? I think not."

"Cypher" growled Marika, "What do you want?"

The man with metal eyes appeared on the screen.

"To collect payment for the information I gave you" he said with a frown.

"But it is very pirate like" countered Marika, "You got off Serenity; there's nothing else to give you."

"Hans got me off that rock, true" admitted Cypher, "But I know a bad deal when I see one. Give me all your information on Silent Night or I will have my fleet fire on you."

"Don't let their ships fool you" warned Schnitzer, "They might be old, but they can still do damage if we let them."

"Bug bites, right" said Marika.

"Exactly."

"I have no idea what you're talking about" bluffed Marika, "Perhaps – "

"Don't try to swindle me, girl" said Cypher.

_How did he find out?_

"I'm an information broker, girl" said Cypher harshly, "I have eyes and ears everywhere and when they find pieces of a puzzle I put them together. The Captain of the Bentenmaru, the Original Seven, hidden captains, all the pieces paint the picture of Silent Night. Now, give me everything you know."

"So you can sell them off to every buyer?"

"Why yes. Knowledge is power, and chaos is opportunity. Of course I shall be taking on the search myself as well. All the wealth of the galaxy pales in comparison to the legend of Silent Night. You have one minute."

"Coorie, get Hans on the line. Hans, I need you to –"

"He's jumped away" reported Luca.

_Great._

"Thirty seconds."

"Jump to Hans' coordinate immediately!"

The engines shone brightly and the reactors spun rapidly. Hundreds of missiles slammed into the shield shattering in a single blow. A second storm of warheads soared around the Bentenmaru crashing into its warp engines. Luca's console flashed red with errors. Sand-daime cried out in anguish at the prospect of repairs.

"Whoops," said Cypher, "I might have fired a bit early. Oh well. Since you won't be going anywhere anytime soon, why don't you just give me what I want!"

"Schnitzer, return fire" ordered Marika, "Kane, keep us out of their range. San-daime, coordinate those repairs, we need FTL back on online right away."

"Aye, aye!"

Another hurricane of missiles crashed into the ship. The shields hadn't fully recharged and buckled under the assault. The explosive force buckled the armour and shredded steel. Schnitzer slammed the keys. The cannons shined then sputtered.

"What's wrong?" asked Marika in a panic.

"They've sliced through our security like it was nothing" said Coorie, "I'm trying to recover but their good. Really good. Well, I guess that's expected from an Information Broker."

"Don't admire it, fix it!"

Another volley slammed into the ship. Then another and another. For every inch Coorie took on the electronic front Cypher would take a foot. The two hackers battled each other in the seas of cyberspace while the two ships clashed in the void. Kane desperately tried to dodge the attacks. The repairs were progressing but time was against them.

"That last hit knocked out our point defense batteries," said Schnitzer, "You better step it up, Kane."

"How's our FTL?"

"We're 60% complete; just give us a little more time."

"We're running out of time" said Misa, "Casualties are reporting in."

"They're hailing us."

"Marika" said Cypher, "I'm giving you one last chance. Before you get any ideas, I am willing to get the information from the smoldering wreck that will be your ship, and the frozen corpses of your crew."

Marika looked over the bridge. The screens were flashing, sweat from stress was pouring from their brows. The shields were down, weapons locked, and the armour was breaching. Coorie desperately tried to reign control of her own systems while trying to crack their foe's. In the few minutes of combat Cypher's little flotilla had barely suffered a single scratch.

"To Cypher of the unknown fleet. I, Captain Marika Kato –"

"More signatures dropping out of warp!"

Seven frigates dropped out of hyperspace with weapons charged. The ships were shaped like a triangular leaf. The bridge was hidden beneath folds and folds of armour. A shining white paint covered the hull and around the edge were several phase arrays. The vessels fired off several warning shots between the combatants.

"All ships stand down! We are of Frontier Expeditionary Force. By our judicial authority we demand you shut down all systems and prepare to be boarded!"

"Cypher's fleet is spooling their FTL" reported Hyakume, "Looks like they're retreating."

"I'll be watching you, Captain Kato. Be warned, I will make the Silent Night known to everyone. If you want to find it, if you want to survive, you will give me everything," said Cypher as his ship slipped away, "Oh and watch out for Hans, he's a clever fellow."

"Attention unidentified ship" said the Force leader to the Bentenmaru, "Shut down your systems and prepare to be boarded."

"Coorie send them our transponder data please."

"Captain Kato, we are prepared to render any assistance to repair your vessel. And may I say that it is an honor to find the Bentenmaru this far in the frontier. Please be advised however, that we must still board your ship as part of our judicial duties."

"We understand captain" said Marika as relief washed over her, "The skirmish damaged our FTL engines, any assistance in its repairs would be greatly appreciated. All hands prepare to receive guests from the Frontier Expeditionary Force."

Uniformed men once again set foot on the pirate ship. They quickly went about their work, not so much searching but providing aid. Medics and doctors tended to the wounded alongside Misa. Engineers brought aboard parts and diligently set about patching the FTL engines.

"Thank you for your cooperation Captain Kato. May I ask what an illustrious pirate ship is doing so far from the more core fringe systems?"

"We were hired by Fairy Jane to escort their freighters in the sector. Jenny, er, I mean, Ms. Dolittle told us about raiders in the area."

"Ah, yes. Unfortunately our orders have restricted us to only intervene if the colonies themselves are at threat. But my reports indicated that there was only a single ship, not five. You wouldn't happen to know what they were after, would you?"

_Silent Night._

"No, sorry" she lied, "But I'm glad you arrived when you did. Whoever was leading their ECM had paralyzed us."

"I would've beaten him if I had another minute" said Coorie warfing down a chocolate bar.

"We almost passed the system if I may be frank. An anonymous tip diverted us here. A very rare occurrence on its own, but even stranger considering how detailed the message was."

"The details?"

"Yes. The Good Samaritan was strangely specific, indicating the size, armament, and formation of the offenders. They however did fail to mention you were in the conflict."

_Strange in deed._

"It appears our tasks are complete. Good journeys, Captain Kato."

"And to you."

"Captain," said Luca, "We are ready to leave at your command."

She walked to Coorie, "Any luck with the Serenity Archive data?"

"I've broken through the first level of encryption, but things aren't looking too good. I can grab little fragments."

"What fragments have you got?"

Unrelated ones by the looks of it. Mostly historical records like the Battle of The Titanium Sea, Siege of Garnet A, and Wolf 359. Here's an irrelevant one, the Bentenmaru is apparently linked to the Altair Mining Corporation."

"Altair Mining Corporation? How is my great-grandfather linked to them?"

"There's no date attached to it. It was probably a quick pirate raid at one point or a job if it was after the war. I can keep finding little fragments like this easily, but recreating the full links will need the approval of a member of the Royal Family. See this seal? It's more than just a water mark, it's a firewall I've never seen the likes of before."

"Can you break through?"

"Maybe, but it would be easier if we just asked your friends to –"

"This seems more and more dangerous the closer we get. I'd rather not get them involved" said Marika, "Would you mind doing some other snooping for me? I need you to find out as much as you can about Hans and _Das Boot_."

"Getting suspicious are we?" insinuated Coorie as she grabbed a handful of chips.

"Cautious" she replied, "Since we've started working with him we've had more shots fired at us than when we faced Grand Cross."

"We can always drop this adventure" said Misa.

"Cut and run" said Kane, "It's what Hans would do."

"I agree" said San-daime, "Give him back the Boatswain's Call and send him off. If he wants it so bad, he can have it. After he sinks everyone after him."

Marika returned to her seat, "We can't give up on Silent Night. Not anymore. We all heard it, Cypher will be watching. And as Captain of the Bentenmaru, I am wrapped up in this no matter what. Do we still have Hans' coordinates?"

"Yes."

"All hands prepare to jump. We're finding Silent Night."


	8. Chapter 7

"Where are we?" asked Marika as her ship dropped into normal space.

"Calculating" said Luca, "We are in empty space approximately three light years away from Ceti Alpha V."

Das Boot was floating in the emptiness using its thrusters to push the vessel in and out of a spin. Perhaps Hans was simply bored, or maybe they were trying to create a sense of gravity. Regardless, as soon as the Bentenmaru appeared the little freighter glided to dock. Hans and Mary disembarked and made their way to the bridge. They brought with them the map piece extorted from Nathaniel Drake. The holographic image hovered in the centre of the room with all eyes fixed upon it.

"Anyone recognize the system?" asked Hans.

"It looks like the Sierra Sigma system," said Kane, "But what would a pirate ship do there? No colonies to raid, nowhere to resupply, none of the planets support life."

"Seems like a good place to hide treasure" said Mary with a smirk, "I think we've found it."

"Then why make a map with seven pieces" said Misa, "Or did you forget that."

Misa pressed a few of the glowing blue keys. The other two systems floated far from each other around the room. The faint warp trail snaked around the systems but refused to connect with each other. The strange numbers hovered beneath the stars. Marika and the others peered at the fragmented map, trying to get a sense of where to go. But it was to no avail.

"We'll need another broker" sighed Hans.

"Absolutely not!" shouted the crew of the Bentenmaru.

"We don't exactly have any other leads" said Mary, "Let's use a broker then deal with him immediately."

Kane glared at Mary, "And you say immediately, I assume you mean –"

Mary drew a finger across her neck, "Dead men tell no tales."

"We're not doing that" Marika protested immediately.

"Why not" said Hans, "Seems perfectly sensible to me."

"Dead men tell no tales" said Marika, "But missing men whisper secrets."

"I didn't think of that" said Hans rubbing his chin, "Good point."

"You can't be serious" said Mary, "She has no idea what she's saying. Using a broker is the only real chance to find the next piece before Cypher. Even the smallest spec about any of the other seven is better than sitting around doing nothing!"

"We should return to Tau Ceti" said Hyakume, "We need to resupply and a break to come up with a better plane."

"That's not a bad idea" said Misa, "The Stellar Military will keep us safe and all our pirate friends will be nearby too."

"All the while Cypher will be getting the last pieces of the Map!" protested Mary.

"Calm down, fraulein," said Hans.

"I wouldn't worry about him completing that map" said Marika, "Remember we have four pieces and the Boatswain's Call. Even if he finds the other three, he'll have to face us to get the rest."

"If it's all the same to you," said Hans, "I'd rather avoid a fight if I can."

_I don't exactly want to face him either._

"Okay," Mary relented, "We'll do it your way, this time."

"Good, then it's settled," Hans started to walk down the hall, "Remember to bring some back to the ship, Mary. Stille nacht."

"What's he talking about?" asked Marika.

"Well" she said nervously, "I was wondering if I could stay for dinner here. I don't mean to intrude, though."

Mary shrunk and swayed nervously. It was surreal. Marika had never seen Mary look so uncomfortable before, vulnerable even.

"Sure" said Marika thinking nothing of it, "Come on, join me."

The mess hall was largely empty, with only a few members of the crew taking their dinner. The tray was filled with another questionable meal. The chef, if he could be called such, served the crew a hard bun, simple chicken broth, a mix of vegetables, and an entrée that was assumed to be pork. The meat was tough to cut and very dry. To drink they were given large bottles of tea. Mary however came prepared with a flask of strong alcohol.

"Want a swig?" she asked.

"No, thank you."

"A pirate that doesn't drink" Mary drank, "Well to each her own I guess. Oh my god, this is so good. Hope you don't mind if I take a couple trays back to _Das Boot_."

"Sure, take as much as you like. Is it really that good?" asked Marika perplexed.

"When you've lived off the food I have, anything else is a gourmet. This stuff right here, we can only get when we make port. And we're doubly lucky if it's of this quality," said Mary taking a bite, "Say, since we're getting all chummy, mind if I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

"Why'd you become a pirate? I mean, you don't fit the bill if you know what I mean."

"You mean I don't like killing" said Marika slurping her soup.

"Or threatening, working with brokers, shady folk, have contacts with an insurance company," listed Mary, "Heck, with all that, I'm surprised you're working with us. By the way, we don't like it either, but it is a necessary evil."

"Well I guess I got into it because of my father" said Marika.

"Following in his footsteps. Makes sense," said Mary, "So what was he like? He take you on his adventures and show you how to run a ship?"

"I never actually met him," admitted Marika, "Hmm? Aren't you going to ask me why?"

"Nope," said Mary bluntly, "We don't make it a habit to stick our noses where it doesn't belong. So how did you become captain then? You must've done some hell of a feat to be elected."

"Elected?" said Marika a little confused, "I'm captain because my father was captain. It's one of the articles in our Letter of Marque. The captaincy of the Bentenmaru is passed to descendants only. Doesn't your ship do the same?"

"Well I guess each ship is different," Mary shook her head, "On Das Boot, Hans is the captain simply because he's the guy that has the ship. I've met others where the captain is elected, and others where the strongest is, and still there are others that simply say your captain for a day."

"Wow I didn't know those articles could be changed in the Letter of Marque. That's kind of neat! Mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Are you sure, it might be a sensitive question?"

"Well, we won't know until you ask it. So shoot."

"How can you hurt people so easily? I mean, you know, like Trisha."

"We never actually want to hurt people" said Mary continuing to savour the meal, "Like I said, it's just a necessary evil. Just business. What I don't get is how you have a difficult time with it. As a pirate you've probably hurt a lot of people."

"I haven't!"

"And I suppose all those beams and missiles fired into those ships we fought just hit empty space then."

"That's different, they were trying to kill us! And, and, and –"

"And you were sitting behind a computer screen when it happened. Guess I see your view. It definitely ain't the same as doing it yourself. But don't kid yourself. From behind a screen or with a finger on the trigger, once you fire someone gets hurt. Remember that."

_She sounds a bit like Ririka._

"Damn, this conversation got dark," said Mary with a hard sigh, "So what do you do for fun?"

"Piracy is fun."

"Other than piracy" said Mary rolling her eyes.

Marika regaled Mary with tales of her life in high school, her work at the Lamp House, and the misadventures of the Yacht Club. Mary listened intently, hinging in every word. It was like she had never experienced such a life. However, there was an inkling feeling in Marika. Was Mary listening because she was genuinely interested or was she simply being polite and trying to stir conversation?

"So how about you?" asked Marika, "What's the life of Mary like outside the ship?"

Mary uncorked her flask, "I drink. A lot. Come on take a gulp."

Marika politely refused, but Mary was very persistent. Marika finally relented and took a small sip. The drink was bitter and harsh, but it gave her a pleasant warming sensation. Mary giggled as she continued to gulp down the drink. Her face turned red and she started to laugh more and more.

"Shhhow why did you become a pirate?" Mary asked with slurred speech.

"You're really drunk" said Marika, "You've already asked me that question."

"No, no, no" said Mary, "That was how you became a pirate. I want to know _why_. What's it mean, what do you want out of it? Know what I'm saying?"

"Why did you become a pirate?" asked Marika trying to dodge the question while fishing for an answer.

"Well," pondered Mary in a drunken haze, "I guess because I'm free."

"Free."

"Yeah, free to do whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want, and go wherever I want," she said, "No rules, no nothing to stop me."

"The Stellar Military will try to stop you if you do that."

Hell we've met guys a helluva lot scarier than some military. Sure, we're on a bit of a run, but there ain't nothing keeping us from doing what we want" Mary laughed, "They can try. As long as I'm with Hans and Orvar and Tina, there ain't a damn thing they can do to _Das Boot._"

Mary stared into her flask, "As long as I've got Hans, there isn't a thing I need to worry about."

"Well I guess I became a pirate –"

"Hey, Marika" said Mary, "I know Hans can get be a little overzealous when it comes to treasure, but he's just looking out for us. In his way. Well I should get going. Thanks for the trays of food. Stille nacht."

The night went by slowly but calmly. Das Boot soared far ahead of the Bentenmaru, reaching Tau Ceti a few days in advance. The Bentenmaru contacted the relay station and began her docking ritual. The massive ship was swallowed by the station. Gangplanks forced themselves into place, locking the ship. Shuttles patiently waited to ferry the crew back to their home away from home.

"Marika," said Coorie, "I did some snooping like you asked." 

"Anything interesting?"

"Not really. He's not exactly a remarkable man. I did find this on Das Boot though. Hans isn't its owner. It's leased to him by Starburst Shipyards."

"Can a pirate lease a ship?"

"It's not unheard of, but very rare. It would depend on the Letter of Marque, I suppose."

"How could that work?"

"Ships sink and the captain lives," said Misa, "If the letter is specifically tied to the captain, it's possible to keep pirating regardless of who owns the ship. But it is odd."

"He's not a remarkable man, so it's nothing to worry about. Oh, and you have an appointment back home."

"Where? With whom?"

"At the Lamp House. As to with whom, I'll leave that as a little surprise. Oh and by the way, I might be your communications specialist, but I'd rather not become your secretary too."

"Sorry about this, Coorie."

"I'm just kidding, Marika. Though if you want to make it up to me, bring back some snacks."

"Make yourself at home" chimed Mami, "Marika! Welcome home, how have you been? I've been worried about you since the incident the last time you were here. Is everything alright?"

"I'm doing alright, Mami. Sure we've had a little skirmish here and there, but it's nothing the Bentenmaru can't deal with. Are you doing okay?"

"Oh, I'm doing great! Everyone is waiting for you over there."

A group of five people were seated at a large table tucked away in the corner. The large muscular man was Kenjo Kurihara dressed in his usual dark green feathered jacket and tricorne hat. Seated beside him and delightfully eating a chocolate parfait was his daughter Chiaki, who also wore her standard attire; a black sailor outfit with a white collar and green trim. Ririka relaxed in the booth gulping down a flagon of wine.

The fourth person Marika didn't recognize. He was a tall man who hid his figure beneath layers of baggy, loose fitting clothes. His eyes were moon light yellow matching his decrepit teeth. No older than forty, he bore scars from countless battles and brawls. Beneath his dark, grey and black clothes, Marika could faintly make out the outline and rigid shape of armour. He pushed back his coat to grab some credit chits, but in doing so he revealed a shot flechette shotgun. The man glanced at Marika and greeted her with a small smile and nod. He was surrounded by Marika's family, so he must be a good fellow, implicitly.

The fifth person was…

"Show?!"

"Yo, Marika. Long-time no see" said Show, in the flesh, "How was your little job at the farthest part of the frontier?"

"What are you doing here?"

"_We_ have a matter of upmost urgency" said Chiaki, "Or have you been too distracted to notice what was happening?"

"Relax, Chiaki," said Kenjo, "This crept up on us too."

"And Ririka?"

"I was one of the best pirates in my time" she said with a smirk, "If they're talking to me, you know this is big."

The yellow eyed man stood up, "I'm Jack. Jack Pinkerton."

"I take it you're a pirate too."

"In a sense" he chuckled, "I'm a bounty hunter. From the Pinkerton and Pinkerton Security and Enforcement Company Limited Incorporated Partnership. And as much as it hurts me to say it, we need the help of pirates."

"So let's start hammering out those details, you dig?" said Show, "If I understood you're message you want Harold Lloyd to suspend all our piracy operations to assist in wrangling some wayward debtors. No offense, but this is does not exactly sound like the most lucrative proposition for us. Pirates included."

"More importantly isn't this a matter for the local law enforcement to handle?" added Chiaki.

"Or the Stellar Military" said Kenjo.

"Who do you think hires us" said Jack, "Stellar Military and local law are spread thin out on the far frontier."

"So much so that their orders are to only intervene if the colony itself is directly threatened" said Marika, "Leaving shipping routes open to raiders."

"Smart girl" smiled Jack, "And it ain't just dumb schmucks that can't pay a loan we're after. Out there we've been going after some real pirates. And I don't mean you actors with your staged raids on luxury liners. I mean the real, mean, kill you even after your dead and take everything you've got pirates."

"The Pirate's Guild" said Ririka, "We've crossed swords with them before."

"Ah, so you're not just actors. That makes me feel so much better."

"Let's cut to the chase" interjected Show, "What exactly do you want us to do?"

Jack became grim, "About a week ago one of our destroyers was lost near Ceti Alpha V. Apparently one of our wayward debtors was in the area and the captain thought it would be an easy job. The ship was destroyed with all hands."

"Marika, you were in the area" said Show, "Did you see who sank him?"

"No" said Marika trying to hide her shock, "We were escorting a freighter at the time in a different sector."

"So the Pirate's Guild is getting more brazen" said Ririka, "Just pull some of your ships from the core systems. The reinforcements should put them back in line."

"They aren't just getting more brazen. They're getting organized. It used to be single dumb pirates going after little freighters. Now they're going after convoys, asteroid mining operations, and raiding the colonies themselves in some cases. And they aren't just taking cargo like usual, they're stealing data too. Just random data, like cookbooks, logs, and sensor readings. Completely useless junk."

"So what exactly do you want from us?" asked Marika.

"With the cooperation of Harold Lloyd, I would like to hire as many pirates as I can to assist us in the far frontier. Compensation would be the standard of what our clients pay us, plus any bounties you happen to collect."

"This isn't exactly what pirates are hired to do. Not to mention, if all of us suddenly depart to the far frontier, the liner companies and their customers will not be pleased" said Chiaki.

"But the Guild is a threat to everyone" said Ririka, "They're at the far frontier now, but in the future they may threaten the core. I'll get in touch with a few of my old friends and see what they say. No promises though."

"Same here" said Kenjo.

"It's an interesting proposal," said Show, "Tell you what, I'll put out a general posting about your little dilemma. If any pirates want a piece, they're free to take it, but our regular work takes priority. Sound okay to you."

"Fair enough," said Jack, "And what about you, Captain Kato?"

_The Pirates Guild is after the Bentemaru. Going to where they are strongest will be risky, but other clues to Silent Night could be there as well._

"We've been working with Fairy Jane out near the far frontier. If we happen to be in the area, we will gladly assist. However, like my fellow pirates, I make no promises."

"Well, I hope others answer the call. If we don't get a break soon, things will get very scary" Jack dropped a handful of credits on the table, "A pleasure, captains."

The others also rose up to go back to their business.

"Be careful, Marika" warned Ririka, "Friends can quickly become enemies in the seas of space."

Misa and Kane were waiting outside the Lamp House. They were surprisingly calm and relaxed considering all the events that happened. Behind them was Misa's shining death wagon she called a car. Her trusted crew members waved her down.

"Do you have a new job lined up for us?" asked Kane.

"Not exactly," said Marika, "Our little expedition into the frontier has caused problems. The Pirates Guild is attacking the far frontier. Convoys, asteroid miners, and even the local security forces. I think they're trying to find the pieces of Silent Night's map."

"That doesn't make sense," said Kane, "Why would they be going after regular freighters and colonies?"

"Cypher" said Misa, "He probably told them the absolute minimum. With so many people looking in the wrong places, he can move behind the scenes to find the real clues."

"He's probably a few steps ahead. Damn Information Brokers. What do you want to do, Marika? We can still let this blow over."

"Let's see if Hans has uncovered anything. And I've still got Coorie working on that datapad."

"They're all back on the relay station," said Misa, "Come on, I'll give you a lift."

"Buckle up" said Kane.

The relay station was a bustle with people. Businessmen were running to catch flights, restaurants were filled with people trying to grab a quick meal. Shuttles launched to and fro carrying people to the planet.

"Marika!" called out a child's voice.

"Guier? What are you doing up here?"

"The yacht club is cleaning the Odette II. Are you off to some pirate adventures? Can I come, please?" she pleaded.

"Oh, no we're not doing anything. For a while. A very long while. A very, _very,_ long while" said Marika, "Oh, look at that, I've got to get going. Bye!"

"Awwww" Gruier moaned.

Marika was led through the maze of corridors and halls into the depths of the station. They passed the entertainment section with its bright neon lights, free flowing liquor, noisy music, and the rattle of digital dice. They slipped through the maintenance wing and its piles of parts and rows of vehicles. The lights became darker and flickered, the temperature dropped to a point where they could see their breath. The high beep of forklifts and cargo carriers occasionally echoed off the metal walls.

"What is this place?" asked Marika.

"This is the freighter dock and cargo loading bay" said Kane, "We don't normally pass through here since the cargo we ship isn't heavy. It's cold because it helps with food storage and some items are sensitive to heat."

"So why is Hans, here?"

"His ship is a freighter isn't it" said Misa rhetorically, "With a crew and ship that small he probably doesn't get much of the regular jobs we do. The insurance companies must give him cargo contacts. He probably picked one up while waiting around Ceti Alpha."

"A pirate hauling cargo seems out of place doesn't it?"

"Different kinds of pirates, different kinds of work" smiled Misa, "Remember, over a century ago pirate ships came in all shapes and sizes."

"Alright," said a gruff, scratchy voice, "Just as we agreed forty-thousand credits. Here, take it. Okay boys, start hauling it!"

A group of men started lugging around crates onto a flatbed. With the expressions on their face, what the boxes contained within must've been excruciatingly heavy. Painted on the crates was a large image of a trio of fairies colored red, green, and blue.

"That's all we could get?" said Mary's voice, "Forty thousand? That was easily worth sixty."

"Beggars can't be choosers," said Hans sternly, "It's not a lot but it will buy some time. There's also a little to spare for spending money. Go on, girl. Buy yourself something nice."

"Are you sure?" asked Mary with a hint of eager delight, "There are other things we need to do. The call. I can help –"

"Go on" encouraged Hans, "Das Boot will still be here when you get back."

Hans was alone in the cargo bay. He lit a cigarette and began to smoke calmly. Marika was about to step out of the shadows.

"Come on out, I know you're there" said Hans.

_He knew I was here?_

"Perceptive as always" said a shadowy figure with a deep voice, "Sadly, not perceptive enough. Now, shall we do this quickly and quietly or will I have to shoot you?"

"Or we can do this the usual way," Hans tossed him a bag of credits, "There's your bribe, now go."

"It seems a little light. Oh no, this won't cover all of you."

"What? That's the same amount as last time!"

"Call it inflation. Now, cough up a little more or I'll have to take you in."

"How about you just cover the three of them and I'll come up with the difference next time."

"Racking up more debts, chum? Not very wise are you. But that is intriguing. Let's make it double."

"Double!" protested Hans.

"Yes, or would you rather face the alternative?"

"Why not just take me in now? You have the cash in your hand."

"True, I could double up today, but I'm a man that insures his futures. So, double?"

"Fine, double, now clear it."

A blue screen rose from the shadow's wrist. A few faces appeared and were promptly erased, "It is done."

"Now get out of here."

Hans was alone once more. Before another interruption Marika stepped out of the shadows and spoke with Hans.

"Marika" said Hans with surprise, "What are you doing here? How long have you been there? Oh, brought Kane and Misa too. What brings you down here? If you've got cargo to sell, I'd be more than happy to help get you the best price."

"We were wondering if you found any leads" said Marika.

Hans shook his head, "We're drawing blanks. And with all the… cargo contracts we're handling at the moment, we haven't got a chance to go sniffing."

"Hans, where you want this?" asked Orvar carrying a massive crate out of Das Boot.

"Just drop it over there. They'll be here in about half an hour. I'm telling you we need another broker."

"We still have Coorie and that datapad."

"With no progress. By the time she cracks it and remakes the links Cypher will be sipping rum on some oceanic planet he bought with all the treasure."

"He can't find Silent Night without out pieces," said Marika, "But you're right. I'd rather not have to confront him for the ones he finds."

"Why not do what we always do?" said Orvar lugging another crate, "We go to bar at edge of nowhere and listen to rumors. Is how we found first piece no?"

"If we're going to do nothing then we might as well be working" said Kane, "Let's pick up one of our usual jobs and if a rumor pops up, all the better."

"But what are the odds that some rich pompous putz will have heard of Silent Night" challenged Hans, "Sitting in a bar gets the same results but we get to drink as well."

"Doing our regular work get the same results, but we get paid to boot" said Marika.

"Getting paid, huh? And that's on top of all the loot you take right? Okay you've convinced me" said Hans, "Das Boot will join you on your next little job."

"Okay…" said Marika nervously, "I'll give Show a call then…"

"I will see you later then" Hans pulled out his communicator, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make a few calls of my own."

Several hours passed uneventfully as both crews made the final preparations for what they expected to be a long journey. Mary and Orvar were standing outside the airlock tending to their vices while waiting for Marika to return.

"Mary, Orvar" exclaimed Marika, "You ready to do some piracy?"

"Always" said Mary, "Just a heads up we've never actually raided a liner before."

"But we can still crush skulls" interjected Orvar, "Their shinies will be ours, no problem. Orvar make sure of it."

"Oh, I don't think we'll need you to crush any skulls," said Marika, "This should just be a regular run of the mill job."

"Just in case, you'll have to read through the manual" said Misa with a grin.

"There's a manual?" asked Mary and Orvar in synchronised astonishment.

Marika led them through the halls and corridors of the Bentenmaru toward their temporary quarters. It was a simple room, more cramped than a can of sardines. A single bunk bed, Orvar was forced to take the lower to his dissatisfaction. A pair of small foot lockers provided some measure of security for valuables.

"Wow, and you're telling me these aren't officer's quarters" said Mary admiring the space.

"And gravity" said Orvar.

"Oh, that's right. Das Boot doesn't have an artificial gravity generator" said Marika, "I've been wondering –"

Mary shushed the room. She shut her eyes and listened intently. There was only the low, subtle buzz of the electronics. The click and clatter of metallic machines. And the gentle tap of Kane's foot.

"You can come on out" said Mary, "I know you're here."

"Who are you talking to?" asked Marika.

"Not coming out are you" said Mary stalking to the bunk, "Well then, I'll just have to pull you out!"

Mary rushed toward the bunk and tore off the covers. She flipped the mattress. Crawling beneath the bed was a little girl with long blond hair tied into several long braids that flowed from a pair of buns. She was dressed in a similar fashion to Marika. She had a tall bicorn blue hat with a gold trim and red tassel. The petite figure was burdened by a thick, woolen, coat that went all the way to her ankles and followed the same colours as her hat. Pluming out of her red vest and beige shirt was a pink scarf pinned neatly by a blue pearl brooch.

Marika sighed, "Guier, you need to stop doing this."

"Wait, you know this stowaway?"

"Hello, I'm Gruier Serenity" she said with a warm smile, "Marika Kato is a friend of mine."

"Judging by your outfit, you're a pirate too, I take it" said Mary.

"Oh, I sure wish I was. This was made by my friend Mami" giggled Guier.

_Of course she made it._

"I'm Guier Serenity. And whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

"Orvar" said Orvar, "Forgive me saying. Your name is familiar. We meet before?"

"Oh, I don't believe we have. You may know my family the Serenity Royal Family."

_Crap! Crap! Crap!_

"Why princess stow away? Surely can just walk wherever she want."

"Marika doesn't like it when I stow away," Gruier pouted, "She doesn't let me join in on her adventures."

"I'm Mary. You know if you really want to stow away without getting caught, you should hide in the maintenance access ways. Nobody wants to crawl in there and you can get to anywhere you want."

"Thanks for the tip!"

"Please don't give her any ideas" whined Marika, "I'll have to get San-daime to star checking all of those now."

Realization flashed across Mary's face, "Hey would you mind giving us a hand with something? We've got a datapad from Serenity but it's locked. Think you can use your royal status to make it work for us?"

Gruier looked perplexed, "I guess I could, but if it's locked there has to be a really important reason behind it. What are you looking for exactly?"

"We're trying to find out what happened to the Original Seven" interjected Marika.

"Wouldn't checking a history book be easier" half-jested Gruier.

"We're more interested in the people, not the ships" said Mary, "And you can't find out what happened to them from a text book."

"I can't really help you" said Gruier, "Or more like I'm not sure if I should help you. If my government locked that datapad, they probably had a good reason. I'll ask a few questions, maybe we can get answers from that."

"Anything helps" said Mary, "And here's another tip if you want to stowaway again."

"Please don't" pleaded Marika.

Mary leaned over and whispered into Gruier's ear. A bright smile cracked across Gruier's face before she broke down into a hysterical laugh. Mary smirked at Marika when she had finished corrupting the little girl.

_Great, now I'll never be able to find her._

"Come on, Gruier," said Misa in her soft soothing voice, "I'm sure the yacht club is worried about you."

"Oh don't worry," smiled Gruier, "I let them know."

"That figures" said Marika under her breath.

"Captain Kato, care to give us a rundown of the job?" asked Mary.

"And manual" said Orvar, "Must not forget manual."

"Huh, oh right. I'll tell you over dinner."

Their eyes widened at the prospect of the Bentenmaru's food. Tonight would be a very lucky night for them indeed. The regular slop and dreg that the chef normally served on long voyages would be kept tucked away in the freezers. Tonight would be fresh meat and vegetables and delicious deserts straight from the Sea of the Morning Star. Marika couldn't help but smile and get a warm fuzzy feeling when she saw their cheeks blush and mouths water.


	9. Chapter 8

"What? We're broadcasting? One second. Muahahahahah!" laughed Marika maniacally, "Attention Princess Apricot, the Bentenmaru has completed its electronic attack. All your systems are belong to us! I mean, your systems are now under our control. Resistance is futile! Prepare to be boarded and hand over all your valuables."

The Bentenmaru extended its gangplank and locked into position. Marika led the charge on to the ship with Mary, Orvar, and Schnitzer close behind. The corridor was dark with the only source of light being the green glow of the emergency lights. The boarding party stacked up against a massive door. In the darkness they could feel the detailed engravings and woodwork.

"Nervous?" Marika asked Mary.

"A little" replied Mary, "So we jump in guns blazing?"

"Orvar would like that" said Orvar.

"No need to get too jumpy" said Schnitzer, "Everything should go smoothly."

"Just follow my lead and everything will be fine" said Marika, "Okay, it's time for some piracy!"

Schnitzer kicked open the door. A few shots of blaster fire rang out and harmlessly flew over heads. A couple screams filled the air but they were quickly drowned out by cheers and applause. The room basked beneath the glow of a blue-white light, almost a perfect recreation of moonlight. Along the sides of the room were statues that served as pillars made of a material that resembled marble. Between the pillars were holographic flowers. The pirates stood atop a grand staircase beneath the glass ceiling. Beyond the glass and between the twinkling stars was the one and only Bentenmaru.

"You're up, Mary" said Marika softly.

"R-right. Arrr! Alright you scallywags, have all your valuables at hand. If any of you lot try some funny business, it be the business end of little Bessie here's you'll be dealing with go it? Now, let's form a neat line shall we? Arr!"

The passengers delightedly formed a neat queue whilst pulling out their golden watches, rings, and other jewelry. Others wanted to express their gratitude and pulled out several credit chits worth hundreds.

"Wait. Stop it" said a man's voice.

Stepping out of the crowd was a man dressed in a lowly sailor's uniform. The immaculate white of his uniform was stained with some oil and grease. He brandished a small pistol, capable of only a single shot and a shoddy sword.

"I won't let this happen on my ship" he said, "The rest of the crew might be scared shitless, but I won't go down without a fight."

The small gun popped, it's bullet drove itself into a pillar knocking the nose off one of the statues. The man looked shocked that he accidentally wasted his only shot. He put on a brave face and pointed his sword.

"You there," he called out, "Come face me!"

"Mary" said Marika arrogantly, "Deal with him, a captain shouldn't waste her time with some lowly seaman."

"Love to," replied Mary, "But I think we should let our mutual friend deal with him."

"Mutual friend?"

Orvar cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck with a devilish smile. The giant laughed as he approached the little sailor. The sailor slashed with his blade. The metal cut Orvar's shirt making the smile disappear. Orvar growled, making the sailor wince and drop his sword.

"Puny man is brave to ruin Orvar's favourite shirt."

The sailor turned tail, "To hell with this!"

"Come back" shouted Orvar giving chase, "Orvar not done having fun yet!"

"You were supposed to duel him" Marika whispered to Mary, "Should we go after them?"

"Nah, it'll be fine," she replied, "So, what next?"

"You're champion is quite the coward" said Marika, "Now, unless anyone else wants to challenge us, let us continue in a civilized manner."

The crowd was abeam with smiles and laughter. All sorts of shiny objects filled small chests and bags. The pirates thanked their patrons and continued with their duties. The lights returned and there was time for some relaxation. The aristocrats and nobles grabbed their drinks and hor d'oevres before talking freely with the pirates. Even the captain paid a visit.

"Another splendid show" said the captain, "I must apologize for the actions of that sailor however. Please forgive him, he's new and eager."

"Oh, don't worry about it," said Marika, "He's actually one of us."

"Fumbling Hans is one of yours? Well then I must thank you doubly when you take him away. He's been making a right mess of the ship for a past two weeks."

"Two weeks?"

"Why yes. He filled out an application form and everything. I must say you were quite thorough in hiding a pirate on our ship. I applaud you."

"But we didn't –"

"Please forgive me, I must get back to my post. And I believe you need to rescue one of your crew mates," the captain pointed.

Mary had been surrounded by high class men. She had been drinking rather freely and her red cheeks showed it.

"So, you come here often?"

"Really? That's all you could come up with?" Mary laughed, "How about you. Take your shot."

"You ever been to the edge of the galaxy? It's absolutely marvelous. If you'd like I can take you on my personal starship."

"Better, but I think you've forgotten something" Mary pulled out her gun, "I'm a pirate on her own ship. Nice try."

_It seems like she can handle herself._

Marika began rallying her crew to prepare to disembark.

"So did you hear?" said a passenger, "Pirates have attacked the Luxor system."

"Well, lucky them. It must be their first time seeing such an amazing show."

"No, not these pirates. Real ones. They landed on the settlement and took everything that wasn't nailed down."

"Oh dear. Dear Sir, your corporation has operations near the Luxor system does it not? I hope all is well."

"I haven't received any reports of anything dangerous, but I believe caution is warranted. Perhaps the Pinkertons can provide some security."

"Surely these fine pirates can provide security as well. They're ship is mostly certainly battle ready."

"Perhaps, but I'd rather not trust something vital to… If I dare say, actors."

"Oh, you have me intrigued now. What could be so important so far away? Surely you could give us a little hint."

"Well I cannot say much, but let us say I've found some real pirates of my own."

"Hmm… some real pirates. Perchance hast thou found the shell of an ancient pirate ship? If you have, thou wouldst have come across a fortune much greater than one would have ever amassed through his enterprise."

"And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Well, as you said these pirates are mere actors, and they rarely venture beyond the core. And since your little mining operation has not been raided, it cannot be the wreck of the new breed of brigands. So, the only real pirates that can possibly be are from an age long gone. Am I not mistaken?"

"I have said too much, I see."

"Perchance I am simply too clever."

The crew stacked crates and bags in the cargo bay. Clipboards and datapad slowly appeared as they took a tally of everything they collected. Marika stood proudly in the doorway admiring another job well done. Something was irking her however, what those passengers said, could it possibly be true?

"That was more difficult than I expected," Mary let out a breath, "But it looks like we got a good haul out of it."

"Yeah" said Marika, "Orvar got a little too into it though. I hope Hans is alright."

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure Hans and Orvar had a great time running around the ship."

"I guess."

"So did you hear any rumours?" asked Mary cutting to the chase.

"A small one," said Marika, "We'll meet up in an hour."

Everyone gathered in the office just outside the captain's quarters. Hans was dressed in his Princess Apricot uniform giving Orvar hard looks. Apparently Mary's little prank gave Hans a few more bruises than he bargained for. A holographic projector had been prepared and sat in the centre of the table.

"So, what's the word?" asked Tina.

"It's just a rumour" said Marika nervously.

"A rumour got us this far," said Hans, "And it's better than going on nothing."

"Go ahead, captain" said Misa.

"Well, while we were on the Princess Apricot a couple of passengers were talking about a mining operation near the Luxor system," Marika activated the hologram, "They said that they found the wreck of an old pirate ship. Er, or so they say. It might be one of the Original Seven if we're lucky."

"That asteroid field is massive" said Kane, "And far too dense for the Bentenmaru to enter."

"Das Boot could get through that, no problem" said Hans, "Once we're through the field we'll need to find out where the ship is."

"The usual?" asked Mary.

"The usual would probably work," said Hans, "But what exactly would we be looking for?"

"Ideally, we'd want to get our hands on the main computer core," said Coorie, "But if that fails, a memory storage unit would suffice."

"You'll need some top notch engineers to grab those units" said San-daime, "One bad crossed wire and the entire system can fry."

"So that's where you and Tina come in" said Marika, "Hans, what exactly is the usual?"

"Well, it's what I did on the Odette II and what Mary did on Ceti Alpha" said Hans.

"We're going undercover?"

"Yes, but without any more details we'll have to play this by ear" said Mary, "Business as usual."

"But what will the Bentenmaru be doing while you're tracking down the ship?" asked Misa, "I don't think we can all fit in your little ship."

Marika thought for a few moments recalling all the adventures she has had. She was searching for anything that was similar to this. The Grand Cross, the Hakuoh Pirates and Jenny Dolittle, the Nebula Cup, anything that could help.

"Lightning 11," she muttered, "The Bentenmaru will wait on the edge of the asteroid field here. If there's an emergency Das Boot will escape the field and the Bentenmaru will deal with any threats while we make a quick escape. It's not much, but it's better than nothing."

"Cypher's destroyers won't be able to get into the field either," said Hyakume, "And I'm betting he's already heard this rumour too. With the Bentenmaru waiting on the edge we can also warn you if he shows up."

"That's good since every second counts" said Mary, "Speaking of, if we find the core, how long will it take you to salvage it?"

"All things are variable" said Tina, "But I can guarantee it will take at least fifteen minutes."

"Agreed" said San-daime.

"Then we'll have to do this when the least number of people are active," Marika thought aloud, "Which means we'll move near midnight."

"She's a quick learner" said Mary.

"Alright, everything is set" said Hans, "We set out immediately."

"What? Right now?" asked Marika.

"It's a week's journey from here" said Misa, "Better sooner than later. Good luck!"

Marika's eyes opened lazily letting in white light from the fluorescent bulbs. Her long hair floated in and out of view. She stretched out her arms and legs. She hit the button holding all the chords together, releasing them slowly to retract back into the wall. Changing in zero gravity was a hassle when clothing refused to maintain its shape in addition to floating around the room. Marika grabbed onto whatever hand holds she could to propel herself around Das Boot. The ship seemed to get larger the longer she was on it.

"Morning" said Orvar floating by, "Captain not in cockpit. All going to eat, you come with Orvar."

The giant Orvar had long adapted to life on the little freighter. Like Schnitzer he could barely stand fully upright, so he spent all his time horizontal. Orvar led Marika down the circular hallway to a medium sized square room. In the centre of the room was a small circular table with a checkerboard pattern. Utensils and bottles of condiments were tied to chairs and the table with long strings. Hans, Mary, and Tina were munching away on a breakfast served in small tin foil parcels and tubes.

"Morning," said Hans, "Grab a packet and start eating. We've got tons of choices."

"Oh yeah" said Mary taking a spoonful of paste, "There's Soylent Green, and Tasty Wheat, and Soylent Green, and Tasty Wheat. Oh! And don't forget Soylent Wheat and Tasty Green."

"Soylent Green is people" said Tina enjoying her Tasty Wheat.

"Look if you're that desperate for something different, grab a lunch parcel and eat one of those."

"Then what will I have for lunch?"

"You just listed all your options, eat one of those," said Hans with a smile, "So Marika, what'll it be?"

"Tasty Wheat sounds tasty" said Marika floating to the table, "Mind if I grab something to drink too?"

"Tang incoming" said Orvar tossing a juice packet.

Marika jumped up to grab the drink. The silver packet tumbled and flipped through the air. Her fingers grazed the corner spurring the juice away. A pair of scissors, tethered to the wall, pointed to the package. Everyone's eyes widened as the package approached the sharp edge. The package neatly cut open spilling its contents. Orange liquid poured out and formed into droplets and beautiful shapeless fluids. In an instant Hans and his crew grabbed the nearest straw and launched themselves at the fluid.

"Mine, mine, mine" hollered Tina.

"Not if I get there first" said Hans.

"It's Orvar's!"

A white straw punctured the surface of the liquid sucking it all in.

"Sorry, but it was mine this time" said Mary.

The crew of Das Boot laughed merrily as they returned to their places. Marika opened her Tasty Wheat and took small portions of the tasteless paste.

"So how many days until we reach the Luxor asteroid field?" asked Marika between bites.

"About five days" said Hans.

"So get comfortable" said Mary.

"Hey, since we've been here I haven't been able to check out your engines or systems because a certain someone won't let me" said San-daime, "Captain Hans, I request permission to enter your engine room and work on your systems. Maybe I can get this rust bucket into a sense of working condition."

"First of all, it's not a rust bucket" said Hans, "Second, it's up to Tina. So Tina, what do you say? Will you let poor San-daime here look at your precious engines? I'm sure you could teach him something."

San-daime tried his best to sway her with his puppy dog eyes.

"Fine," groaned Tina, "But you're not allowed to touch anything, or go anywhere near my work without my supervision. Got it?"

"I wouldn't dream of destroying your work" said San-daime, "We engineers have a bond you know."

"Right…"

The engine room was far more cramped than any other place on the ship. Three medium sized reactors stood as a single mass in the centre. Along the walls were all sorts of gauges and screen and indicators. Wires and conduits were exposed with tools and instruments nearby for quick repairs and adjustments. Tucked away in the corner was Tina's workstation where she managed the energy output and, where Maika assumed, she engaged in electronic warfare. As limited and sloppy as it may be. The room was filled clank and clatter and buzz and rumble of the engines. San-daime was practically drooling at the chance to see how Das Boot performed its micro-warp jumps. One object caught his eye however.

"Oh my god" said San-daime in astonishment, "That's how they do it."

Tina smiled and nodded proudly, "Yup, that's the pride and joy of Das Boot right there."

Marika looked in the direction they were but all she could see was a large black block.

"What are we looking at?"

"They got rid of their articifial gravity generator and replaced it with an Opteric Mark IX Signal Augmented Sensor Jammer" exclaimed San-daime, "These things practically make the ship impossible to detect by sensors. But why could we still detect you?"

"We've been holding back" said Tina smugly, "We only use its full power when we really need it. It's so good it actually jams our _own_ sensors."

The day was filled with mundane activities. Hans and Mary sat in the cockpit inputting minor adjustments in the navicomputer. Orvar stayed in a small room cleaning and maintaining the ships' and their personal weapons. Tina was getting rather irate as San-daime examined every little part and tried to take apart their systems in order to "improve" them. Marika wandered about trying to lend a hand where she could. Time went by slowly when you could traverse and entire ship in five minutes, but midnight arrived in its due time and it was time to retire.

The crash of metal panels and a hushed shout of a curse broke Marika's slumber. A shadowy figure glided past the door. As quietly as she could Marika unfastened herself and floated around to follow. They slowly moved down the corridor toward the front of the ship.

"Vinnie, that payment covers the last month and a half" said Hans' voice, "That's got to give me a little more time."

"You're behind a full year in payments. If you think thirty thousand is going to make everything better than you've got another thing coming. Perhaps if you spend less on that little hunk of junk's modifications, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"I had to make these mods because of the work you and the rest of Starburst keep giving us."

"That's your problem. We're repossessing the ship."

"You got to get it first."

"Don't worry, we will. Starburst out."

"God damn it!"

The shadow entered into the dim light of the cockpit.

_Mary._

Marika hid just beyond the doorway.

"Don't worry, it'll all be fine after this" comforted Mary.

"Mary, you should be asleep. It's way passed your shift" said Hans rubbing his eyes.

"Thanks for the reminder, dad" teased Mary, "Guess I'll head back then. It's a shame; I was hoping to share this bottle of rum with you."

"Wait," Hans held out his hand, "Let's drink."

"Well, I don't have the bottle here you see."

"You're really conning your way into staying up late, eh? Well, then go on and get it."

"Oh, Marika, what are you doing up?"

"Uhh… nothing," smiled Marika.

"Well, want to join us?"

A bottle of rum drifted around the cockpit from pair of hands to pair of hands. They had to be careful however. A single stray droplet could severely damage the archaic electronics. Mary and Marika sat in the seats while Hans floated behind. The stars streaked across the black canvas creating a swirl of blue and white and red and yellow. It was a sight beyond description. Around the speeding stars Marika could briefly make out a few of the planets. Specs of swirling gas giants amid marbles of blue.

"So this is what hyperspace looks like" said Marika in awe.

"It never gets old does it" said Hans taking a swig.

"No, it never does" said Mary.

"So, what's it like being a pirate with your dad?" asked Marika.

Hans spit out his rum and desperately tried to clean it up.

"Tina's going to kill you!" said Mary trying to capture the wayward droplets, "And where did you get that idea?"

"Oh, I heard you mention that he was your father and –"

"She was kidding" said Hans, "We're not related."

"But you did teach me everything I know. Heck you might as well be my father," said Mary, "I'll give you the short version. Hans here picked me up off some backwater planet when I was fifteen and we've been together ever since."

Alarms began to blare and the ship was bathed in a dim red light. Orvar and Tina bolted from their rooms to the cockpit with San-daime close behind. The bottle of rum bounced off the walls pouring its contents as it went. Hans and Mary paid it no attention as they fastened themselves in and tried to figure out what was going on.

"Emergency?" asked Orvar.

"What's the word, captain?" asked Tina, "Why is there rum floating around?! You know what that will do to our systems!"

"What's going on?" shouted Marika over the racket.

"Proximity alarm" said Mary, "But there's only supposed to be empty space here."

"We're going to need to drop out of FTL" said Hans, "Orvar, Tina, you know what to do. San-daime, see if you can give her a hand."

"What about me?" asked Marika.

"Stay here" said Mary, "We might need you."

A flashing light caught Marika's eye. Beside the light was a headset with two large bulbous phones that went over the ears. A faint voice could be heard. Marika fiddled with the controls around the headset trying to increase the volume.

"S.O.S. Need assistance… S.O.S Need assistance…" said a voice, "Our coordinates are…"

"There's a distress call" said Marika.

Das Boot dropped out of hyperspace and ground to a halt. Like Hans said, the place was completely empty; no stars, no planets, no asteroids, or meteors. However, large fragments surrounded the ship, bouncing off its thick hull while the shields rose. They were metal shards and the source was right before them. Haplessly drifting in the empty void was a long hulk of a ship. It was roughly two hundred meters long, painted tan and dark brown and shaped as a triangular prism.

"That must be the source of the call. It looks like a freighter" said Marika, "Does a trade route pass through here?"

"No, nothing is supposed to be here" said Mary, "So the question is what is it doing out here."

Das Boot carefully approached the vessel and shone its lights on the hull.

Marika pointed at a section of the hull, "Those are cannon blasts."

"They must've jumped here to escape whatever attacked them" said San-daime, "Pirates Guild probably tried to take their cargo."

"They didn't try" said Hans guiding the ship, "They did. Mary, reset the navicomputer. Alright folks, nothing to see here, let's head on out to Luxor."

"There might be survivors" said Marika.

"Not our problem" said Hans.

"Of course it's our problem!" protested Marika, "Everyone is alone in space, which gives us all the more reason to help those in need."

"Take a look at that hull breach" said Hans, "There ain't no way someone survived that."

"But the distress call –"

"It could have been automated," Hans prepared the ship to jump, "There's nothing for us here."

Marika glanced around the room. San-daime nodded in agreement, but there was little they could do.

"There might be cargo left behind" said Mary, "We might get lucky. If not, I'm sure we can salvage some of the ship. Right, Tina?"

"Yeah, we can take the cores, dismantle their engine if we have the time. And we could always use more spare parts."

"How much do you think that salvage will be worth?" asked Hans, practically drooling over the opportunity.

"We won't know until we board" said Mary.

"Alright. Orvar, suit up and check it out" said Hans, "Radio in if it's all clear."

"Understood."

Marika caught Mary's eye and whispered a thank you. Mary winked and smiled in return.

Everyone had gathered outside a thick metal door with a steel wheel as a door knob. Hans, Mary, Marika were getting suited up. Marika brought her own suit, it was simple suit made of a comfortable, flexible material. It was coloured grey and trimmed in red. Mary and Hans had a much more simple set up. The gear their used for extra vehicular activities could scarcely be called gear at all. A simple plastic mask connected to a thick coat and large pair of oxygen tanks stood between them and the harsh conditions of space. Orvar had greater protection. The giant was surrounded in a massive suit made of plastic polymers and covered in cloth. His helmet was a large glass dome and his hands had been replaced with a four pronged claw. Beyond the door the hard blunt thump of his steps echoed through the ship.

"Those are some interesting EVA suits" said San-daime.

"Sorry we don't got fancy ones like the little captain there" said Mary.

"He doesn't mean anything by it" said Marika.

"Orvar, how's it look over there" said Hans over his communicator.

"Is dark, no gravity" his voice was breaking through static.

"How's life support?" asked Mary.

"Instruments say room temperature. Not sure about air," reported Orvar, "I think you be okay."

"Alright, all ashore who's going ashore" said Hans.

San-daime and Tina left the airlock and sealed the room.

"Hey Tina, make sure he doesn't mess anything up" said Marika.

"Not you too!"

A gust of wind pushed them a forward. Hans and Mary pressed a button on their shoes and stuck to the ground. Flashlights shone on floating shrapnel and drifting electronics. Exposed wires sparked and fuel splattered. Small flames drifted through the darkness like fireflies. Deep, coarse breathing whispered through the comms like a ghost. The flashlight flickered threatening to die.

"Mary, take Marika and head up to the bridge. Orvar, we're headed to the cargo bay."

"Roger."

Marika pulled herself through the ship. Mary pulled hard to raise her foot and dropped it with a stomp. The two carefully walked down the corridors passing empty rooms. Photos, game pieces, data novels sat perfectly in their place. Blaster scorch marks and bullet holes riddled the walls. On the floor were drag marks and as they drew closer to the more populated areas, the droplets started to turn red. Marika's heart beat filled her ears.

"Hey!"

Marika jumped.

"Easy there," said Mary, "You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah" said Marika catching her breath, "Say, where can I get shoes like yours?"

"Magnetic shoes? You can make them yourself. Just need an electromagnet, a switch, and some adhesive. Real easy."

"If you two are done swapping fashion advice, Orvar and I need something from you."

"Go ahead."

"We've reached the cargo hold, but the blast doors are down and locked up tight."

"Have you tried the old fashioned way?" asked Mary.

"If it worked I wouldn't have called you."

"We'll try to find the security office and open it from there" said Marika, "Over. Hey, Mary, what's the old fashioned way?"

"If we come across a locked door, I'll show you."

The girls continued toward the bridge. Their flashlights flickered and promptly died, leaving them only the sporadic sparks and demonic glow of red buttons.

"That looks like it" said Marika.

The double door to the room was locked shut. There were no hinges and the console had been destroyed. The girls pushed their fingers into the space between the doors getting only as far as the first knuckle. They strained and grunted, pulling with all their might. The fingers stretched and strained and felt like they would pop off. The heavy doors wouldn't budge. Mary kicked the door making a loud gong noise.

"We need more leverage" said Marika.

"Think this'll do?" Mary held up a long pipe with a jagged end.

They jammed the rod into the slot. Marika positioned herself to push off the wall while Mary pulled. They strained and grunted while the door creaked and rattled. The pipe bent but it forced the door open. Not fully open, but wide enough that one person could step through side faced.

"After you" said Mary.

Marika sucked in as much of her as possible and squeezed through the narrow passage. Her hand reached for anything to help her pull into the room. What she found was large, had a soft shell and a hard rigid core. She pulled and it drifted and became taut like a rope. With each jerk a gentle thud followed. Mary rolled her eyes and shoved Marika through. The captain flew forward and crashed into the strange object.

"Ahhh!"

Icy blue eyes glared back at here through dark blue skin. Serpent hair wrapped around her, brushing her cheeks. Frozen blood covered talon hands. Frost grew like spider webs from bullet holes and torn flesh. Marika leaped back. Her elbow slammed against the wall to an electronic chime.

"Hey you found a friend" said Mary through the opening door.

"Go fuck yourself" said Marika catching her breath from the shock.

"Well ain't that out of character" smirked Mary as she pushed the body away.

"What happened to her?"

"Looks like she got wounded and locked herself in to wait for help. Maybe she was the one to send the distress call."

"No, it was a man's voice."

"There's the security console. It looks like it still works."

A desk, surrounded by notes, was tucked away in a corner with the back to the wall. A closer look revealed the desk was actually a very large screen. When Mary took the seat the screen automatically angled itself for her comfort. Images and keys came out of the darkness in shades of red bathing Mary in a hellish glow.

Mary pressed a few buttons, "Looks like some of the cameras still work."

Marika reached over Mary's shoulder and flipped through the ten new windows that appeared. Most were corridor cameras showing only the empty blackness and the entrances to private quarters. She found one recording Hans and Orvar waiting outside a large blast door, bored out of their minds. The camera to the cargo bay was swallowed by darkness.

"What the? The bridge's camera is nothing but static."

"Must've shot it out" Mary searched the keys and icons, "Hey Hans, did that work?"

"Yeah," Hans let out an impressed whisper, "I wish you could see what we do."

"We can."

The hold was thirty meters wide and twenty long. Cargo nets held back piles and piles materiel. Massive metal crates refused to budge in zero gravity. Three yellow dolphin like creatures were painted on the plasteel crates. The three creatures arranged themselves in a circle like they were chasing each other's tale. In the middle of the dolphins was a simple red dot. Hans and Orvar walked through the rows of cargo, disappearing and reappearing from the camera's view.

"This place will keep us busy for a while" said Hans, "Whoever attacked these guys barely took anything."

"They weren't brigands then" Marika said to Mary, "But why would you just attack a freighter if you weren't going to take its cargo."

"Because they were after something else" said Mary, "Come on, I'll bet the bridge logs have some answers."

The bridge was only a few more meters beyond the security room. The blast door bulkhead and slammed shut and no amount of physical strength or leverage would open it. Green, red, and yellow buttons flickered on a hand-sized console on the left wall.

Marika examined the console, "It's a simple number pad with the letters A through D. Given enough time I could hack this. Hey, San-daime, any advice?"

"Not really" he said, "Without a camera link or the special equipment we use, I can't guide you. Try pushing some numbers."

"Okay," Marika pressed buttons at random, "Okay, so it's four characters long. 1111! 1112! 1113..."

"Move."

"What? Why?"

Mary's pistol was pointed right at her. A red blaster bolt soared in silence hitting the console. Sparks sprayed in every direction, bouncing off the walls and Marika's suit. Arcs of electricity jumped from the exposed wires with a distinctive mechanical buzz. The blast door slowly rose with creaks and groans.

"The old fashioned way" said Mary walking in.

The bridge was a cramped space and flat. Five stations surrounded the captain's chair, which itself was further enclosed by a computerized desk on three sides. Large, paper thin glass panes hovered above the desks as monitors. Many of the monitors had been shattered, but a couple were in fair condition with their cursors blinking against nothingness. Marika immediately took the captain's seat and began accessing files and folders.

"The captain didn't get a chance to lock the system" said Marika, "Should be easy enough to find the logs. Where did the captain go, though?"

"Uhh… don't look down" said Mary.

Like being told not to think about elephants, Marika immediately looked down and yelped. Red eyes stared back at her from an old wrinkled face with a wispy white beard. The body from the security office gave Marika a great shock, but this absolutely terrified her. Her foot kicked the dead captain making him float toward her. The ghoulish glare got closer and closer. The two heads were centimeters apart. Two heads, one without a body.


	10. Chapter 9

"Shiver me timbers!" screamed Marika as she ejected from the seat.

"Really? Shiver me timbers?"

"What happened to him?"

"I think it's fairly obvious" Mary lightly pushed the head away, "Shoo, go hide in a corner somewhere. So, how do those logs look? They show what pirates hit this place?"

Marika regained her composure and resumed flipping through the files. She found a cache of video logs for the past two weeks. Without question she started to scan the frames.

"We heard screams, everything alright up there."

"We're fine" said Marika.

"Don't worry, she just lost her head for a moment" Mary laughed at her own joke.

"What?"

"Nothing. How's our treasure trove looking?"

"Let's see here," Hans strained to open some heavy crates, "Plasma torches, thermite drills, deuterium power cells, lithium batteries… not a bad haul all things considered. Look for a manifest, let's see where this ship was headed."

"Thinking of doing their job for them?"

"I'm thinking of doing their job for us."

"I found it" said Marika, "They were headed to the Altair Mining Corporation's colony. The same one we're headed to. Oh, here's a video log."

Marika active the log and funnelled the sound through the ship's intercom. The screen wiped away to show the video. The bridge was in the same chaotic mess as it is now. The recording showed the crew kneeling, cowering by the far wall with hands behind their heads. The captain pinned to his seat by the point of a long sword. The brigands were dressed in long grey trench coats with metal plates covering the wrist, chest, thighs, and other vital points. The minions wielded long rifles and energized cudgels crackling with high voltage electricity.

The captain grumbled, "This pirate act of yours is going too far. You're kind isn't even supposed to cater to freighters. Go back to the liners where you belong."

"I'd say our act is very authentic," said the brigand leader, "Now, tell me where you hid the information about Silent Night."

"We don't know anything about that" the captain pleaded, "We're just a freighter shipping industrial supplies to the Luxor system."

"Like hell you don't know about it" shouted the brigand leader, "Where are you hiding it! I know it's here!"

"There's nothing here!" shouted the captain, "I don't even know what that damn thing is!"

The brigand slashed his sword across the chest making a deep cut that bled profusely. The captain shouted. One of his crew jumped to his feet only to meet the hard impact and paralyzing shock of the cudgel. The crewman twitched and frothed at the mouth.

"God dammit!" squealed the captain, "Take what you want, take everything. Please leave us alone."

"You! Take those land lubbers to the airlock. Throw them out one by one until they tell us what we want to know. Since you don't know anything, I say you've outlived your usefulness."

"What kind of pirates are you?" said the captain leaning back from the blade. He turned pale as the new moon, and started to sweat bullets. His small eyes bulged and the nostrils flared with every breath.

The sword began to buzz and hum a high pitch. Its razor edge slowly approached the right leg, cutting the cloth with but a touch.

"Ahhh! Ahhhhh! AHHHHHHH! AHHH!"

Marika closed her eyes and ended the recording, "Why?"

"There's more than one way to skin a cat" said Mary sympathetically, "More than one way to get the answers you want."

"And what if he lied?"

"An answer's an answer."

"Good thing he's searching for answers in the wrong places" said Hans.

"Why they leave cargo?" asked Orvar.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" said Hans, "Looks like we've got our way into the mines though. Grab the ship's most recent manifests. We're going to pose as them."

"In a freighter that looks nothing like it and armed, mind you" said Marika, "How exactly are we going to manage that?"

"You'll see. Take notes, you might need this skill."

"Okay, but I think theBentenmaru should know what happened" said Marika, "I've have a bad feeling about this."

"What kind of bad feeling?"

"The kind that says that when we arrive, there will be trouble."

"I completely agree" said Hans, "Make the call after we're done salvaging."

Mary pulled an ID tag off the floating head, "We'll need a few more of these two."

"Macabre" said Marika.

"Yeah, I know."

Marika downloaded the manifest then joined Mary in stripping the dead of their identification. Hans and Orvar pushed crates and containers down the hall toward the airlock. An untold number of hours passed by in the grim darkness of the freighter. The hull continued it harrowing moans and groans; and an eerie chill crawled up their spines. Das Boot was filled with as much cargo as she could carry. The gangplank snapped away and the two ships drifted apart. Marika stared out of the cockpit and watched the ship of ghosts drift away. The scorch marks and blaster breaches came into view before disappearing into the void. The last screams of the captain rang through Marika's ears.

"Different kinds of pirates" she muttered softly.

Small meteors plinked off the shields making sparks. Hans was cursing under his breath with each one that broke through and scratched his precious ship. The occasional word 'lease' was muttered.

"Who's brilliant idea was it to put a mining colony in the middle of an asteroid field" complained Hans, "Bah! Orvar, take one of the girls and start blasting these damn rocks!"

"Marika, you come yes?"

"Sure."

Orvar took Marika down the hall to the turret. It was far from what she expected. The cannons of the Bentenmaru were controlled by a series of consoles on the bridge by Schnitzer. On Das Boot, the gunner was forced to buckle themselves into a small seat and control the quad cannon with a square steering wheel. A trigger on either side ordered the blasters to unleash hell. Targeting was the greatest challenge. A single small monitor in the middle of the wheel indicated the trajectory and velocity of their targets. The gunner would use this information to maneuver the turret into position. In dire emergencies, a rudimentary optical sight could be used. At the moment the screen was cluttered with small and large objects whizzing in every direction. A few would collide and break into several more meteors.

"Point and shoot" instructed Orvar as he moved to the other turret.

"Got it!"

Marika jerked the wheel to attack a target. The seat jerked her in return making her flail when it ground to a stop. Her fingers instinctively contracted pulling the trigger. A stream of laser blasts shot out into the asteroid field turning the small chunks of rocky metal into fine dust. Well, every asteroid except the one she was aiming at. That one maliciously shattered against the shield making Hans' string of profanity echo down the hall.

"You'll get used to the jerking" said Mary floating in, "And don't rely on the screen too much."

"Then how will I shoot?" asked Marika swivelling to hit the next asteroid.

"The old fashioned way" Mary smirked, "Eyeball it."

"Eyeball it" Marika repeated.

She leaned forward into the optical sight, peering into the dense field of floating rocks. Occasionally she glanced at the screen, but Mary soon covered it up. A small meteor caught her interest as it barrelled toward her. With Mary's guiding hands, Marika swivelled the chair and turret smoothly into position. She squeezed the trigger and fired a stream of red blaster shots into the tumbling stone. The meteor shattered into a fine dust that washed over the ship like beads of water.

"I got one!"

"Great kid, don't get cocky!" said Hans over the intercom.

Marika continued to pop space rocks. With every minute that passed her skills improved in leaps and bounds. Soon she was snapping from target to target and turning them into dust. Larger meteoroids cracked in half or shattered into smaller pieces that bounced harmlessly off the shields. Das Boot deftly climbed and dove to avoid the larger asteroids.

"Alright we're coming up on the mining facility" reported Hans, "Everyone, get ready."

Mary threw a bundle of clothes down the corridors into the hands of the crew, including Marika and San-daime. The burned cloth and stains had been repaired and washed but the dreaded feeling of a death stull clung to the fabric. A small ID badge and chit drifted soon after.

The cockpit had the best view of the island in a sea of stone. Three large glass bubble-like domes covered the top of a large asteroid, nearly being classified as a planetoid. Grey metallic tubes snaked in and out of the surface and drove deep into the core. Small drones buzzed about the area and flew to the nearby asteroids with drills and shovels. As Das Boot got closer, they could start making out small figures walking across the surface in large suits with hydraulic joints and bars.

"Attention unidentified vessel. State your purpose and destination."

Hans set up the comms, "This is Das Boot, we're here to deliver you the industrial supplies you ordered."

"Supplies?"

"Yes, order number 6852397-A" said Hans, "Assorted goods like deuterium batteries, thermite drills, plasma torches, and the like."

Flipping pages came over the comms, "You were supposed to be here three days ago. Bah, well, better late than never. Approach on the following vector and land on Pad 2. The loading crew will be waiting."

"Hey, I'm ferrying some new workers for you also. Where do you want them to go?"

"We'll deal with them at the same time with the cargo."

"Roger that."

Das Boot slowly approached the mining base, carefully adjusting for the gravity well. The armed freighter flew into the hangar and dropped onto a simple cement landing pad. A group of men hung around a forklift and a small flatbed truck. The cargo bay ramp lowered and they immediately started to haul the crates.

"They must be strong," observed Orvar, "Much effort needed to move equipment that size."

Marika jumped a little bit, "Less effort than usual. There's less gravity here than back on the Bentenmaru."

"Still, need much strength."

"Hey, you're not the shipping freighter that was scheduled," The foreman whistled, "That's one fancy ship though. What's with all the weapons?"

"Dangerous times out here" said Hans, "Can't be too careful with all those pirates about."

"Got that right. What the? Where's the rest of the cargo?"

"It all we could manage, be grateful we were able to get this through," Hans crossed his arms, "The last ship that tried to get to you was raided by pirates."

"And how would you know that?"

"How do you think we got shanghai'd into making a delivery this far out."

"Fine but we're only paying for what's here. You there! You the lot meant to start working?"

"Y-yes" stammered Marika presenting her ID card.

The foreman gave a commanding whistle. Another group of men dressed in black and carrying pistols walked in with a large machine. The machine was the size of a person and moved about on a pair of treads. It was triangular in shape and had a platform for a person to stand on. Several needles and tubes hung inside a tube on the left, and cameras stared out at face level. On the back of the machine was a monitor and a keyboard.

"Alright, just step on the machine and we'll get this done quickly."

"What is it?" asked Marika.

"And more importantly, who are those?"

"Just a background check," the foreman coughed, "With all the pirate activity out here, we need to start being for careful. Hell, a couple of those damn bastards showed up a couple of weeks ago posing as miners. There was a small shootout and everything but we got them good."

"What'd do you to them?"

"What did they do to pirates in the old days?"

"Hang them."

"Exactly. Anyway, now we've got to start checking everyone that's going to stay here for a while. Luckily, those Pinkerton fellows are more than willing to lend a hand. For the right price o' course, but it's a damn good bargain for a little peace of mind."

"Surely you don't need to take us" said Marika, "We're registered and everything. We even have the ID cards."

"Don't take the check, don't get to work."

Marika stepped onto the platform and shoved her arm into to hole. The needles softly pierced her skin and drew a sample through the tubes. The cameras subtly swivelled to analyze her face.

"Alright you're clear. Maria Schnell, report to Junction 20."

San-daime followed, then Tina. There were no issues, and they were called Samuel and Trisha respectively. Mary shook in her boots as she stepped onto the platform. Marika could hear Mary's heart racing as the needles drove into her arm. Small beads of sweat fell down her face. The camera's fixed on her like gun barrels.

"Alright, you're clear. Anne Bonnie, report to Junction 21."

Relief washed over her.

"Hey, listen the space ways are in a hell of a mess with ion storms and the like" said Hans, "Mind if I make this a port in the storm for a bit?"

"Step on the platform, and you'll be more heavily watched than usual."

"This isn't good" Marika muttered to Mary.

"It'll be up to us then."

"Come on boss, there's no need for the check. I'm not going to work here, just waiting for the storms to pass."

"Step on the platform or get out of my mine!"

The Pinkerton guards put their hands on their pistols. Hans immediately threw his hands up.

"Alright, alright. I'm stepping on it."

The machine undertook its suspicious process. Hans was very anxious as the seconds passed. His crew seemed ready to pounce on a moment's notice. The machine beeped and flashed a red light. The Pinkerton guards huddled around the monitor and began to mutter. Hans yanked his arm out creating several deep cuts. The foreman stepped behind the machine and examined the console.

"Must be a glitch," he muttered, "I've never heard of this guy. Even then, it's just petty. Nothing to worry about, but keep an eye on him. Alright, you're clear. What the hell are you lot doing here!? Get to work!"

The Pinkertons pushed the group down a dark dank hall lit only by open bulbs strewn on cords. The sound of steel cracking stone echoed through the air, accompanied by the cacophonous whir and buzz of drills. They crossed a catwalk and beheld the massive mine below.

A massive cavern extended miles in every direction. Hundreds of miles of tunnel weaved in and out of the antechamber. Miners wielded massive personal drills that bore into the earth, extracting the valuable minerals and tossing them into the beds of carts and trucks. Thermite melted new passage ways, while its molten blood was gathered into large troughs that flowed into a large forge. Wide lifts were strategically placed throughout the complex leading to every inch of the asteroids surface.

"What do you mine here?" asked Marika.

"A little bit of everything" said the foreman, "Tinebarium is the most important though. That stuff is used in everything. And I mean everything."

"Anything else?" pressed Marika.

"Well, we've got a little special project that came directly from – ha, ha, nice try little girl" he smirked, "You gotta work your way up before you get in on the real money making schemes. Don't worry, play your cards right and it'll only take five years or so. Now if you look to your right…"

"Don't worry, we'll get there much sooner than five years" muttered San-daime in an aside to Marika.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Best to keep a low profile" whispered Mary to Marika and San-daime, "Never know who might be listening."

"Cypher."

"Exactly."

"There are probably some other pirates here too" said Marika, "I'll bet the ones they caught are nothing like you."

"Thanks for the complement," Mary smiled, "And you're right. So keep your guard up."

"Any advice?"

"Ask questions. A lot of them."

"Alright, Annie you're headed down this hall to the surface. Put on your safety kit and report to the boss on the surface. Maria, you're working in the main mine. Sam, Trish, we've been having problems with the reactors, go fix them up and report to the engies."

"Wait, we're not working together?" Marika questioned Mary.

"Guess not. This throws a wrench in our plans doesn't it."

"Hey! Quit standing around and get to work!"

"Listen, we'll meet at midnight at the landing pad. Find out anything and everything. Got it? Good."

Marika struggled to work with the massive heavy drill. The drill bit ground against the stone, shaking Marika violently. Sparks flew alongside sharp bits of metallic rock. Her head swivelled about searching for anything suspicious. A peculiar tunnel drew her attention. Foremen with a distinctive red patch continued to file in an out of a tunnel guarded with Pinkertons.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

"What?"

The drill bit ground to a halt but continued to fight trying to break the asteroid. By the time Marika blinked he drill snapped clean off and shot off into the distance. Everyone around her dropped to the ground and covered. The flying drill rang out as it struck every inch of the cavern before drowning in a vat of molten rock and metal. The foremen immediately began to chew her out.

"Claude! Take this stupid girl with you to the palladium tunnels! Surely both of you bumbling idiots can handle something as simple as a palladium."

"Y-yes sir. Come with me, lady."

Claude was a middle aged man whose hair had begun to grey far too early. His cracked, wrinkled face was covered in dust and rust. His helmet was battered and peppered with holes. The state of his mining equipment and gear was equally, if not more so beaten.

The two of them headed toward the tunnel and began their task anew in the darkness.

"New?" he asked, "Me too. Only been one month, it has."

"Started today" said Marika.

"Here's a little trick to mining," Claude placed some thermite on the tip of his drill, "You see, the thermite will soften the rock as you drill."

"Won't that destroy the drill?"

"Yes, but we go through these things every day. We're lucky that freighter showed up otherwise we might have to stop working for some time."

Claude continued to chat away as they extracted stones of palladium. He spoke of everything, and it was everything. From the weather to the food, to the work to what they did before they came here. Nothing was off limits with him. And Marika knew it.

"So what's the deal with that section there?" asked Marika motioning to the sealed tunnel.

"Something important" shrugged Claude.

"Come on, you know more than that."

"Not really. Bosses don't like us going there. Especially the sailor types. Only foremen are allowed to go, and then only specific foremen."

"The ones with the red patches."

"They're not patches, they're personal transponders."

"Why would they need those?"

"Let them through the force field. Last week some pirates tried to get through and got fried."

"And what do you mean by 'sailor types'?"

"We've been getting a lot of sailors working here recently. They all say it's because of the rogue pirates, but I don't know."

"You a sailor?"

"No, I do not like the small spaces or constantly being away from my family. Though that I must endure while I am here" Claude smiled and looked at Marika warmly, "Please forgive me, but you look like my daughter. She is twelve."

"Let's get back to work."

"Agreed."

The work was hard and a wages low. The bell sounded and the horn blew, signalling the end of the day. A huddled mass shambled to their quarters, cramped as they may be. The lights went out right on the dot of 22:00. A blue white glow and a low muttering kept Marika awake.

"Daddy, how much longer will you be there?"

"Only a few months more" said Claude softly, "How's your mama?"

"She's good, feeling much better now. She can walk again."

"That's good. Here, look what I've got" Claude pulled out a tangle of metal and wire, "Something for you to tinker with when I get home."

"What? Okay mom. Mom says I need to go to bed."

"Better listen to her. Good night."

"Can I have a lullaby?"

"Okay" Claude softly hummed a calming tune.

_Twelve years old, growing up waiting for her father. I can relate._

She closed her eyes to catch a few winks. Midnight came far too quickly. Marika carefully hopped out of the cot and tiptoed out of the room. Flashlights flickered on the walls as guards patrolled the area. Whirring drills and clinks of picks were scarcely made by the graveyard shift. The light tap of her steps sounded like a cacophony. The flashlights froze. Marika pressed against the rocky walls, squeezing in as best she could into the crevice and cracks. As the spotlights drew closer, silhouettes took form.

"The sound came from here."

"I don't see nothing."

"Maybe we scared him off?"

The light passed over the crevice. Marika held her breath for all the good it would do.

"Maybe" the light scurried away, "Back to patrol."

"So, what do we do if we catch one?"

"They want them alive to hang them. But if they resist, well, we get to have some fun."

"I hope they resist then."

Their chuckled echoed as they walked away. Marika ran down the hall, covering the sound of her steps with their chuckles. The tunnels seemed to go on forever. Only the dim glow of the few lights and the sparkle of precious metal guided her. Footsteps make her freeze and hide. Her heartbeat filled her ears and grew faster and faster.

A single white light illuminated a single section of the landing pad. The cargo ramp was lowered freeing the light from Das Boot. Four shadows stood in the light. Marika let out a relieved breath as she stepped toward her friends.

"Hey, I ma–"

Strong arms pulled her away into the darkness. Marika kicked and threw against her attacker with muffled screams.

"Shhh! Shhh! SHHH! Ah! God damn it, don't bite!"

Marika immediately recognized the voice, "Mary. What was that for?"

"Take a closer look."

Marika peered through the black at the four shadows. Faintly the light touched their long coats. Mary nodded. They were Pinkertons.

"So, I guess Hans' background check created more problems than we bargained for" said Marika.

"No kidding" San-daime appeared.

"We'll have our little meeting back there" said Tina, "But we better make it quick. I've got to get back. Damn duty roster."

The group slinked away silently to a small alcove a few meters away. Mary sparked her lighter and lit a cigarette.

"They don't like smoking in the tunnels" said San-daime teasingly.

"All the more reason," Mary winked, "As for the matter of this hidden ship. On the surface there's an area cordoned off with Pinkertons. I'm guessing the ship is buried there."

"I wonder if the area is directly above the tunnel in the main mine" postulated Marika, "There's a section of tunnel guarded and protected by a force field."

"Might be" said Mary, "So, we just knock out the force field and waltz in. Easy as pie."

"I don't think so" said San-daime, "I got a look at their electrical systems and a map of the circuits. There was nothing indicating a force field or similar anywhere."

"Must be on an independent circuit" said Tina, "I could hazard a guess on where it would be."

"But it will be guarded just as heavily" said Marika.

"Can we blow our way in from the surface?" asked Tina, "A few missiles from Das Boot and a laser burst should crack it."

"That might destroy the ship" said San-daime, "We have no idea how deep it buried itself."

"The surface is also where all those alkali metals are" said Mary, "And from what everyone was yelling at me today, those are dangerous apparently."

"No shit" said Tina, "Alkali metals are the most reactive elements in the universe. If we launch a bomb into those we might as well kiss this entire rock goodbye."

"Then our only option is the force field" said Mary, "Any ideas?"

"Some foremen have red transponders. They use that to get through the force field."

"How do you know that?" asked Mary surprised.

"One of the people I worked beside, a Claude. He talked about it."

"Anything else?"

"He said there were a lot of sailors here" said Marika, "Hiding from the rogue pirates."

"How much do you want to bet some of those sailors are pirates?" asked Tina.

"We have to find out" said Marika, "But we can't exactly question everyone."

"I know a way" said Mary, "Don't worry; you'll know it when you hear it. But, if there are pirates, they must have a ship nearby."

"Which means they've been communicating."

"There's been nothing but official chatter over their comms" said Tina, "And I won't be able to sweep for signals with all those eyes watching me. We need to get Hans to."

"We need a plan first" said Mary, "Can you do anything from engineering and comms?"

"Well, with the exception of the force field, I can cut power anywhere and everywhere" said San-daime.

"I can sever communications and help Sam with his tasks. Also, since the graveyard shift is pretty much empty, I can sabotage some equipment tonight too."

"But there are Pinkertons patrolling everywhere" Marika warned, "They'll shoot anyone out past curfew."

Tina winked, "I have my ways. Besides, we all got here fine tonight."

"Alright so here's the plan," Mary began, "Marika and I will get a pair of transponders. Once I give the signal San-daime cuts the power and we all meet up at the tunnel."

"So Tina and San-daime will go through the force field," Marika inferred, "And they'll shut it down from the other side."

"And how will we manage that?" asked San-daime.

"You're a smart guy, I'm sure you'll figure it out" smirked Marika, "But while we're waiting for them to shut it down, won't the other pirates try to get through as well?"

"In the chaos they'll be dealing with the Pinkertons," Mary sighed, "But you're right. There will be resistance. We'll just have to hold out."

"Then once we're inside we search for the ship, or whatever is left of it and access its data cores" said Marika, "Then it's just a matter of getting out."

"And what's the plan for that?" asked San-daime.

"We wing it" said Mary, "But before we can do any of this, we need to get Das Boot to trace those pirate communications. We need to know what we're up against."

"And if we're lucky they'll be different crews and fight each other as well as us, right?" asked Marika.

Mary pressed a finger to her nose and grinned, "Now, get to Hans and tell him to start tracing and jamming those communications."

"Wait, me? How am I supposed to get passed –"

Mary slipped out of the darkness and into the dim light. She gracefully put one foot in front of the other, putting her long legs on display. With each step she swayed her hips provocatively. Even in her miner's uniform there was something seductive about how she carried herself.

"Hey boys," Mary bit her lip, "Spare a drink or two?"

"Get out of here lady."

_Wow, they didn't shoot her._

"Aww, don't be like that" said Mary playing with her hair, "I know the captain of that ship always has a bottle. And I'll bet strong gentlemen like you just happened to persuade him."

"That we did" smiled one of the shadows.

"Back down trooper. And get out of here lady or there'll be hell to pay."

"That sounds like fun."

_Oh she's good._

"Now come on, just one drink and I'll be out of your hair."

"Grrr… fine."

A large bottle flew into Mary's hand, "Now a toast."

"Make it quick."

"It's no fun for a girl if it's quick" Mary smirked.

The four shadows got closer to her. Mary tilted her head to the side. Marika quickly slipped around the lights and scampered up the cargo ramp. As she entered, Mary started to giggle and the men started to talk. Well except for one.

"Those four are out and about and here we are stuck on our ship" complained Hans.

"We can blast our way out" suggested Orvar, "Would be good fun."

"You know, I'm actually inclined to agree with you" Hans sighed, "But all the good it would do since we don't know where that damn data core is."

"We found it" said Marika, "or I think we did."

"Marika, how did you get back here?"

Marika relayed everything discussed just beyond the cargo ramp. Hans and Orvar clung to every word and began formulating their plan of action. They quickly ran to the cockpit and activated the limited communications console.

"You made the call right?" asked Hans.

"Of course I did. So how many ships are listening in?"

"Several. I can't say for sure."

"I wish Hyakume was here" muttered Marika, "He could probably pin point the exact number."

"Well he ain't here and this ain't the Bentenmaru," retorted Hans, "We got to work with what we got. So, you guys want me to start jamming them?"

"Yeah."

Orvar cocked his rifle, "We move now then. Orvar been itching for fight."

_If we start jamming now, the other pirates will probably panic and attack. We can't start now._

"No, wait for Mary's signal" ordered Marika.

"Alright, but what's the signal."

"Don't know, but you'll know it when you hear it."

"So, when do we launch?" asked Hans eagerly.

"Tomorrow."


	11. Chapter 10

"Woah! Woah! What the hell are you doing, Claude?!"

A small truck and tractor rumbled over the rocky mine. Claude frantically pulled levers, pushed buttons, and threw the wheel. Miners and foremen alike screamed in panic as they ran from its path. A crowd began to gather as the ruckus ensued.

Claude stomped on the brake, "It won't stop! Get out of the way!"

"Steer away! Steer away!"

Claude leaped out of the truck and ran. The metal monster barreled through the mine and dove off a ledge. Mounds of ore and metal crushed the crashing truck, throwing up a storm of dust. Shouts and curses filled the air as drills and picks were thrown on the ground.

"What the fuck, Claude!"

"It wasn't my fault! The brakes weren't working."

"Everyone okay?"

The miners sounded off.

"Help! Help!" groaned a weak voice.

A foreman was half buried beneath the ore. His legs must have been turned to mush. Marika's eyes snapped to the red transponder. She quickly ran to the foreman dragging other miners with her. Everyone around her grabbed rock and shovel to dig him out. Others grabbed his arms and tried to pull him out. The foreman groaned and strained as the workers tried to save him. Marika quickly wrapped her arms around the chest. She grasped the transponder and quickly tore it from the clothing.

"Claude! I'm docking you a day's pay for this crap!" shouted a foreman.

"But it wasn't my fault!" he protested.

"Yeah!" interjected Marika, "Leave him alone!"

"He's right" said a miner rummaging through the wreckage, "Look! The brake line was cleanly cut."

_Tina._

"Damn pirates" grumbled the foreman, "I want a full investigation. Now back to work! Claude, take the day off. Without pay."

"But… if I don't get paid I won't be able to go back to –""

"You want to hang boy? As far as I'm concerned you're the prime suspect."

"What about that freighter captain" suggested a Pinkerton, "He has a record."

"Small record, but you make a point. Hey! Get back to work!"

The crowd began to disperse and the sounds of labour resumed. Claude hung his head and walked back to the barracks.

_Sorry Claude._

"They call me Hanging Johnny. Away, boys away. They call me Hanging Johnny, so hang boys hang," sang an echo.

_I know that voice. Mary._

Mary was mining in the far corner. Her song resounded through the chamber and down the tunnels.

"They say I hang for money" she sang.

"Away, boys away" resounded the miners.

"But hanging isn't funny."

"So hang boys hang."

The mine was shaking with the deep hard voices. The others glanced around in confusion or continued to work, ignoring the melody. The foremen were in a fuss. The Pinkertons got on edge. Marika looked around and saw what Mary was doing. Only a few of the workers were singing to her lead. Sailors or pirates, it didn't matter. There were far more in the asteroid than they had expected.

The song drifted through the tunnels like the ocean. The ocean became rivers and those rivers joined many others as the solemn song continued. Marika began to be carried off by the tune. The lights died and the entire mine was plunged into the abyss. Shouts and yells of confusion filled the air. A few shots rang out. The emergency lights flickered on and bathed the area in a dim red glow.

_That must've been the signal. Which means Tina and Hans have severed communications. San-daime is on his way. And Mary…_

The asteroid erupted into violence as the sailors showed their true colors. The rogue pirates took their simple tools and assaulted anyone and everyone. Miners panicked and fled or desperately tried to hold their ground. Marika grabbed her drill and clambered up toward the guarded tunnel. The security guards opened fire indiscriminately into the crowd.

"Drop the drill!"

Marika put her hands up but didn't drop. Her grip fought her impulses and tightened. The long rifle aimed at her chest. The guard continued to shout and scream. Marika threw her arms as hard as she could. The drill smacked the barrel aside forcing the shot to bury into the wall. Marika drove the butt of the drill into the guard's face. On the beat the guard collapsed on the ground, perfectly fine barring the few missing teeth and swollen face.

Rogue pirates grabbed the weapons of beaten men and took cover behind the heavy equipment and rocks. The firefights were furious, covering the area in bullet holes and scorch marks. Marika felt a hard pull on her shoulder. She swung the butt of the drill as hard as she could. The metal rang at it was parried by a shovel.

"Hey now, I'm with you."

"Mary!"

"Damn straight. Did you get the transponder?"

"Right here. You?"

Mary pulled out the transponder. It was still attached to the foreman's coat, spotted with blood.

"Don't look at me like that. He won't need it anymore. Have you seen Tina and San?"

"We're right here" hollered San-daime waving a plasma torch.

The two were mounted on a simple two person rover. Mary and Marika tossed them the transponders and clambered on. The four charged through the chaos, knocking people off ledges and forcing them aside as they went.

"Freeze!"

Mary thrashed her shovel knocking out the first guard. Tina drove the rover into the second knocking him into the force field. There was a blood curdling scream as his body writhed and spasm. The screams went silent as he turned into ash.

"Well, that just happened" said Mary with wide eyes.

San-daime fumbled with the transponder, "Are we sure this thing is working."

"Only one way to find out" smiled Tina.

"After you" offered San-daime.

"Oh, no, I insist!" Tina kicked San-daime into the force field.

San-daime clenched his eyes and waited for the electric shock. When it didn't come he jumped and clicked his heels. Tina smirked and nonchalantly walked into the tunnel.

"Do you see anything?" asked Marika, "A panel, wires, anything?"

"It must be hidden behind the rocks," San-daime started to dig, "Give us a minute"

"We don't have a minute" Mary pointed down the ledge.

A group of pirates were climbing the rocks. Rifles were held between their chests and chin. Mary pushed a shovel into Marika.

"Found the emitter!" Tina tore open the machine, "Okay now to figure out which wire does what."

Marika grabbed a rifle barrel and forced the butt into the attacker's face. As he recoiled Mary shoved him aside forcing others to stumble to avoid him. A long drill narrowly avoided Marika's back. The two ladies swung their shovels and gonged them against his head.

"Anytime now" shouted Mary.

"Just a few more seconds" said San-daime, "Ok, try it now."

A rogue pirate charged. Mary stepped to the side and stuck out her foot. The rogue clumsily tripped and flew head first into the tunnel. There was a brilliant flickering of light and a cloud of ash.

"Okay, don't come through yet" stammered San-daime, "Don't worry, we just need another minute."

"Hurry up!" Marika wrenched a rifle from a rogue, "Mary, catch!"

"Thanks!" Mary pointed the rifle down the ledge and at the path, "Okay, first one to step forward get a brand new hole."

The attackers froze in their spots until one of them shouted the obvious truth. Only two were defending the tunnel. And the rogues numbered much more and had them on two sides. A bellowing roar ignited a furious charge. Mary fired a flurry of round striking shoulders, chest, leg, and head.

"We're out of time" shouted Mary.

"Almost got it" said San-daime.

"No, no! That one goes here and that one goes there" argued Tina.

"Why not just try the old fashioned way?" said Marika as she parried a blow.

"Good point."

Tina grabbed a plasma torch and shoved it into the emitter. Sparks flew and lightning arced. The force flickered as it had done several times before. Mary grabbed her attacker and threw him into the tunnel. The body flew clear past the point and crashed against the cold, jagged, floor. Tina quickly drove her plasma torch into him, making sure he wouldn't cause any more problems.

"Why did you do that!" yelled San-daime.

"It got the force field down" Mary ran in with Marika, "Stop complaining."

"Yeah, but now we can't put it back up to keep everyone else out!"

"Less talking, more running!" ordered Marika.

The group sprinted down the tunnel with a posse in tow. Shots impacted the rocky wall creating a spray of pebbles. Tina led the way while Mary brought up the rear, firing as she went. The stone walls slowly turned into a metalled, plasteel hall.

"There! A blast door!"

San-daime forced himself ahead and started to fiddle with the console. The ladies took up positions and braced for the coming charge. San-daime ripped of the panel and tinkered with the wires. The charging group drew closer and closer. Their shouts and roars filled the air. Mary fired another burst of fire, then another, and another until the trigger clicked.

Mary turned the rifle into a club, "This doesn't look good."

"Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide" said Tina, "Bad odds."

"Good odds for a pirate" said Marika.

"Oh, I like you" smirked Mary.

"Got it!"

The blast door opened in a flash and everyone rushed in. San-daime slammed the internal console's buttons. The blast door shut. Mary was about to smash the console with the rifle butt, but San-daime got in the way.

"No! If you destroy the console we won't be able to open the door again."

"We'll find another way out" said Mary, "If they get through, it'll be a damn hard fight."

"We don't know if there's another exit" said Marika, "Anything we can do, San-daime?"

"Simple" San-daime pulled off the panel, "If you destroy the console, the door will never open again. But if you sever the wires to the connections that control the mechanisms, the door won't budge, and we'll be able to easily repair it later. That should do it."

"Okay, now let's find the ship and her data cores."

Marika pointed to a display, "Here, this looks like a control centre for the excavation."

They carefully walked the halls toward the room. It was eerily empty. The pristine halls seemed untouched by activity of any sort. There must one hell of a janitorial staff in this section. A thick metal door with a circular window was the only entrance to the room. A group of men dressed in white lab coats hunched over computers analysing blocks of data. A pair of guards, lightly armed, lazily sat by the door. On the far side was another door that led to a narrow gangplank where a few engineers scurried to and fro.

"It's like they're in their own little world" said Marika.

"All the better for us" said Mary, "You take the guard on the right, I'll the one on the left."

"We can't exactly kill them" said Marika, "You're out of ammo and all I have is a shovel."

"We don't need to kill them. Just get them into dropping their guns. On three. One, two, three!"

They burst through the door with a gust of wind thrusting them forward. Marika swung her shovel as hard as she could. Shots were fired ricocheting around the room. The scientists and engineers dove for cover. Her shovel crushed the guard's hands. The pistol fell, firing off another round when it hit the ground. The bullet soared across the ground. A scream of pain from a shattered ankle.

Mary buried her rifle butt into his chest then quickly followed with a stock strike to the back. The guard doubled over and dropped his weapon. Mary kicked the pistol to Tina and continued to beat the guard until he was unconscious.

"Who got hit?" asked Marika.

"I'm okay" said San-daime.

"Me too."

"Same here."

"What is the meaning of this!" shouted a scientist.

"Didn't you hear? All work and no play makes miners super pissed" said Mary.

"It's like Marika said. They're in their own little world here," Tina aimed her pistol, "Now I suggest you answer all of our questions."

"What questions?"

"Where's the ship?"

"What ship?"

Tina fired a shot between his legs.

"It's across the gang plank. Please don't shoot me. It crashed here a long time ago. But its hull is a tinebarium alloy that kept most of it from breaking apart."

"What's its condition?"

"Good! Good! I swear, everything is working. Computers, reactors, everything is working. Which is surprising considering its age."

"The data cores, Tina. Ask him about the data cores."

"You heard her."

"They're intact, but it's just useless stuff."

"Okay, that's all we need to know" said Marika, "Now get out of here."

"What?"

"Go!"

Everyone slowly got to their feet with hands raised. They picked up the unconscious guards and fled. Mary tossed Marika the other pistol. The group was about to embark to the crashed ship but an annoying ring made them pause.

"You going to get that call?" asked San-daime.

"It's not me" said Mary.

A red button was flashing on a nearby console.

Marika pressed the button, "Hello?"

"We heard weapons fire."

"Oh just a slight weapons malfunction" said Marika nervously, "But everything is perfectly alright now. We're fine, we're all fine. Thanks. How are you?"

"We're sending assistance."

"Oh, no that's not necessary. Umm… there's a reactor leak. Big one, very dangerous."

"There's no reactor there."

"Ummm…" Marika blasted the console, "Boring conversation anyway. We're going to have company! Barricade the doors!"

"With what?" asked San-daime.

"Forget the doors. We need to get to the data cores" said Mary, "Come on!"

The group ran across the room and clattered across the gang plank. Beyond the little room was a sight to behold. The gangplank ran across a wide cavern toward a section of a large ship. The vessel was smooth and the section was shaped like a bird's beak. The hull was dull and scratched, but in near perfect condition otherwise. Even in the white light, its bronze hull shined proudly. The beak had pierced through the asteroid like an ostrich burying its head in the sand. The remaining sections, if there were any were hidden behind miles of rock and metal.

"Amazing" said Marika, "How did it survive impact in such good shape?"

"Tinebarium is one hell of an alloy" said Tina, "It's a damn feat of engineering."

"Don't stop moving" ordered Mary, "There's the door."

Without a second thought Mary smashed the console to force the door. A calming blue light washed over them. The troupe haphazardly ran through the maze of curving corridors dodging exposed power conduits and pools of fuel. Consoles flashed randomly, displaying images of an age long gone and playing logs of those long dead. Equipment for the excavation and recovery were piled into certain locations and carrying out their automated tasks.

"Wait, we can't keep running around like this" said San-daime as she examined a console, "Computer, show us our current location."

The console brought up a flickering map.

"Good, it looks like the surviving section is main engineering. I'll lead the way."

Main engineering was a right mess. Power conduits were strewn about with exposed wires. Electricity arced from cable to cable, narrowly avoiding pools of strangely coloured liquid. The tinebarium walls appeared to have been blasted by heavy artillery and other ordnance. In the centre of the room was a tall reactor that was surrounded by tower servers.

"It looks like it was part of a major fight when it crashed" said Marika, "But then why is the exterior hull undamaged?"

"Sabotage would be my guess" said Mary, "We can solve it later. Right now we need those data cores."

"Right, let's open up these towers" Marika nodded.

"Found them" said Tina, "San-daime, give me a hand here."

The data cores were small golden cubes, roughly the size of a fist. Intricate circuits were etched across the surface creating a maze of data and information. Thin fibre optic wires surrounded the cubes like spider's webs while larger multi-coloured cables snaked around each of the cubes. The engineers carefully examined every inch of the data core and traced each of the wires to its point of origin.

"Uh oh" said Tina.

"Uh oh it right" said San-daime scratching his head."

"Uh oh? What uh oh? I don't like it when the engineers say uh oh" said Marika.

"See this" said San-daime, "It's an overload board. And each of these things is connected to it."

"And?" said Mary.

"If we pull any of these cores, the entire thing will blow. We'll lose everything, no chance of recovery."

"On the bright side, it looks like it already went through the access sequence" said Tina.

"Whoever revamped their computers didn't want anything to get stolen."

"Silent Night" said Marika softly, "So how do we get the map piece?"

"The same way we always have" Mary sighed, "We need to blow the damn whistle."

"And bring every pirate looking for it here" said Marika.

Tina nodded, "I'll bring it all up on that console. Ready whenever you are."

"Alright" Marika pressed the whistle between her lips, "Wait, what's our escape plan?"

"We run like hell" said Mary, "I know, it's not much, but we can't exactly sit around thinking of the best course of action."

Marika stood before the console as it patiently waited for the sacred song. She blew the familiar tune to silence the sailors. The screen faded away and a projection flickered to life. A young captain dressed in a long black tail coat with a red trim appeared. His hat was grandiose as were his shoes. A pair of rapiers hung from his hip and pistols were strewn across his chest.

"I am Captain Johnathan Gallows of the Hangman's Ruse. It's a bout damn time the other captain's saw it our way. The Silent Night is a treasure that is meant to be enjoyed, not hidden away. Damn to the depth the concerns of its destructive power. We defeated it once and we can surely sink it the second time. Bah! That's enough talk. To the treasure worthy of the Original Seven!"

The system was a single barren world orbiting a yellow star. The entire system was enclosed by yellow-blue nebula. The path of Silent Night traced across the system with the mysterious numbers: 10021722.

"Any way we can store this?" asked Marika.

"Got it" said Tina pulling out a handful of circuits, "Lots of spare parts around here."

"Alright, now let's get out of here" said Mary, "Those pirates won't be waiting in the wings any longer."

"Right."

The tunnels were oddly empty. Sounds of rifle fire and melee had gone silent. They emerged from the caves to a semblance of order. The miners were starting to crawl out of hiding and return to work. The Pinkerton guards had gained the upper hand and were gathering the suspected pirates into clumps. Without warning a volley fired and a group of thumps like dropping a sack of potatoes followed. The guards forced a group to their feet and escorted them around the corner.

"Dear God, no! I'm not a pirate! I'm not!"

BANG!

"Pay it no mind" said Mary, "Just act casual and we can slip by, no problem."

"Line them up. Let's get this over with" said the sergeant.

"Attention! Attention!" bellowed the loud speakers.

"Who the hell is that?"

"All your systems are now under our… cooperative control. Your little mining base will now be boarded and seized by our pirate crews. Any resistance will be met with extreme prejudice."

"Bentenmaru?" whispered Mary.

"And just to make sure we have a clear understanding."

The mine rumbled and shook like an earthquake had hit. Stalactites cracked free and plummeted to the ground.

"Definitely not" said Marika, "That felt like a small bomb."

"Let's get going before they launch a bigger one."

"Hey, aren't you the ones that came in with that freighter pirate?"

"Shit" Mary grabbed the gun and wrestled it away from the guard, "Leg it!"

The crew barrelled through the crowd. The Pinkertons froze for a brief moment in the confusion but quickly started to fire. Mary covered the retreat, firing shots just over their heads. A firing squad barred their path to the landing pad. Another explosion shook the base. The squad stumbled about making a small opening. In a heartbeat Mary charged through with Marika close behind.

"Forget them! Get to defensive positions! Prepare to repel boarders!"

Alarms rang all through the mine once more. Barricades and fortifications were hastily prepared. Miners were drafted to fight and handed spare guns and simple weapons. Frightened miners tried to stop their escape but all it took was a hard look from Mary and a point of the rifle to scare them off.

"Almost there" said Mary.

Gun shots and blaster fire erupted in the halls. Beams of multi-coloured light zoomed overhead. Shouts and cries of 'hold the line' and 'fall back' fought against battle cries. When the gun shots died, the sounds of brutal hand to hand combat ensued. The crew darted through back tunnels and rat ways to avoid getting mixed in a skirmish.

"There it is!"

"Get down!" shouted Marika forcing Mary to the ground.

The crew took cover behind a stack of crates and a rocky outcrop. A large group of men bashed their tools and weapons against the closed cargo ramp. The shouted and yelled strings of demands and laced their anger with profanities.

"Come out pirate! We're confiscating your ship and getting off this rock! I don't care how many of your friends are boarding! We just want you!"

"Uhhh… sorry, couldn't catch that. Could you say that again? Just slower and more politely please?" said Hans' voice.

"Open the damn ramp or we'll force it open!"

"You can try. Actually, go ahead and try."

The mob opened fire and bashed against the hull. Bullets ricocheted, blaster bolts created minor scorch marks, and the tools made a hell of a racket.

"Any time now guys. Seriously, I've got a date to keep so would you mind breaking that door down faster?" taunted Hans, "Unless you can't in which case, GO AWAY!"

"Any idea how to get passed them?" asked Marika.

"Just one" Mary jumped out and shouted, "Alright, everyone stay calm and nobody gets hurt."

"Ha, ha, ha! Just one girl against all of us? Don't make me laugh."

"There are four of us actually. You can come out guys. Guys? Guys? Come on, this isn't funny!"

Marika kept Tina and San-daime hidden. Even if they did come out, there wasn't a gun between them.

"Shoot her."

"Shit."

The cargo ramp began to lower. The white light within spilled out like a divine wave. The mob crowded around. A small object clanked and tumbled down the ramp, rolling to a halt at their feet. It was a cylindrical stainless steel object. It beeped and flickered. The crowd panicked and bumbled into each other as they scrambled for cover. Mary tossed her rifle and bolted for the ramp. Tina sprinted out of cover across the landing pad.

Marika and San-daime pressed against the crate and closed their eyes. They waited for the inevitable explosion. The seconds passed and there was nothing.

"Get moving! Come on!" shouted Mary.

A gust of wind swept through the cavern. The engines screamed. The mob jumped out of hiding and ran for the ship. A hail of blaster fire raked across the landing pad forcing them back into cover. The gun armed mob returned fire while their comrades cautiously advanced.

"Move quickly! We not wait forever!" shouted Orvar. A small blaster rifle hung around his hip, firing indiscriminately.

"San-daime go!"

"Marika! You're up! Get moving!"

Das Boot started to lift off. Marika ran through the storm. Bullets bore holes through her clothes. Blaster bolts singed her hair. Mary grabbed her hand and pulled her aboard. Orvar continued to fire as the ship slowly took off.

"Wait! Wait! Take me with you!"

"Claude?"

The fatherly worker braved the chaos of battle. Pirates and Pinkertons clashed behind him, falling back and advancing toward the ship. Claude desperately cried and shouted while narrowly dodging strikes. Some of the mob broke through the rain of fire and tried to climb aboard. Orvar stomped them away with his mighty boot.

"Please! Let me aboard, please! Wait!"

"Hold on" Marika ordered the crew, "We have one more."

"We can't wait" said Orvar kicking back a rogue pirate, "Too many. Cannot hold for long."

"We can and we will. Claude, grab my hand."

"The hell is the hold up, Orvar?" said Hans over the intercom irately.

"We have hero."

"Only two kinds of heroes."

"Ya, foolish and dead. She foolish for now. But we may all end up dead."

"I'm not leaving him behind."

"You must."

"Shut up and keep shooting!"

_Just a few more meters. Just a few more meters._

BANG!

Claude's eyes widened in horror. He slowed and stumbled, collapsing in a lifeless heap. A bolt bored through his chest, burning through his heart and lung. The wound cauterized when the bolt impacted. His wide eyes stared endlessly into nothingness.

Smoke rose from the end of the barrel. The murderer's gun disappeared into a shoulder holster, Hans' holster.

"Everyone inside. Mary get us out of here!"

"Hans!" barked Marika, "What the hell was that?"

"It was him or us. And I picked us." Hans glared at her, "Remember, if it comes down to you or someone else, always pick you."

Marika reluctantly stepped into the ship. The cargo ramp slowly closed behind her, shutting out the noise of battle.

"Get on the guns" ordered Hans as he ran to the cockpit with Marika.

"Orvar is on it."

"Already there" said Mary running passed.

Das Boot shot out of the asteroid. The sensors swept the field. Radar and sonar rays bounced off asteroids, hiding anyone that may be lurking. Energy readings spiked all around them. Flak and laser scattered around them.

"How many?" asked Marika taking the co-pilot's spot.

Hans pulled down the sensor screen, "Five, maybe more. Their corvettes or smaller and heavily armed."

Das Boot flew through the dust and fire. The deadly debris barely missed the hull. Mary and Orvar sprayed cannon fire in every direction shattering meteoroid and disappearing into the abyss. The enemy ships spun around the field, firing bursts as they went. The shields sparked and flashed.

"Watch out!" exclaimed Marika.

A large meteoroid crashed into the shields. Its shattered fragments punched through and peppered the cockpit.

"God damn it! That'll cost an arm and a leg to fix!"

"Shields! How are the shields?"

"They're back up at 25%" Hans shrugged, "Give or take."

"Give or take?"

"Shut up and help me fly this thing."

Marika pushed the thrusters to maximum power. She put the course in the navicomputer and expertly input the course corrections. Hans maneuvered the vessel through the asteroid field while carefully following the course set. A massive impact shook the ship. Collision alarms blared. Hans yanked on the controls. Das Boot turned vertical and shot up through a dense cloud of small stones narrowly dodging a massive asteroid.

"What was that?"

"A missile impacted a rock behind us" said Mary, "And it was a damn big one. If we get hit, I don't think we'll be getting out of this."

Lasers raked the ship. Flak peppered the hull.

"Mother of pearl" cried Hans, "How much further?"

"A few hundred thousand kilomters" said Marika, "We can do it."

Two pirate ships sped passed the ship. They spun on a dime and unleashed a storm against Das Boot's prow. The shield shattered under the relentless assault. The ships were equipped with basic Vulcan flak cannons, but each hit was hard felt. Hans stamped and cursed. Das Boot retaliated with a small attack from the front cannons. The little lasers splashed against the shields doing very little. A pair of missiles soared from the tubes. The enemy ships immediately retreated letting the missiles create a sea of gravel.

Another attack smashed the rear of the ship.

"Crap, the other three got their shots off" said Mary, "Sorry, Captain."

"Damage report" ordered Marika.

"Minor hull damage along the aft sections. No breaches, but I'm sealing the bulkheads to be safe" said Tina.

"Tina, we need more engine power" said Marika.

"I'm giving her all she's got" said Tina, "The sensors, weapons, shields, and the jammer are eating up our power reserves."

Another missile exploded near the ship. The concussive force shook the ship and tore a hole in the hull. The bulkheads slammed shut.

"We're losing engine power" said Hans, "What the hell happened?"

"That missile cut several power conduits" said San-daime, "I'm rerouting the power."

"Hurry it up. We can't let them get a direct hit."

The turrets fired another stream.

"Just grazed them" grunted Orvar, "Come back and fight!"

"Don't provoke them" said Mary, "We've having a hard enough time already."

Another missile crashed around them. Hans cursed and swore as the struggled to keep the ship on course. Navigating an asteroid field was near impossible already; add in enemy fire, a damaged engine, and more stress than they could manage, and it would take nothing less than a miracle to pull through.

"Incoming!" shouted Mary.

Das Boot rocked violently. A deafening boom crashed through the halls. Coolant poured out of the walls as a cloud of cold steam. The ship started to decompress. A gale of wind rushed through the corridors picking up anything light enough to fly and threw them out of the hull breach. The few bulkheads slowly closed.

"Anyone bite it?" asked Hans.

"We're all okay."

"Get those EVA suits on, we lost a lot of air" said Marika.

Mary and Tina quickly strapped on the mask and released the oxygen from the tank. San-daime fumbled around as the put on his more complicated suit in zero gravity. He quickly grabbed Marika's suit and the third simple suit and quickly brought them to the cockpit. Hans put on the mask and let the oxygen tank float around. Marika put on the helmet and hooked on the life support systems.

"Was that a direct hit?" asked Marika.

"No, but it was pretty damn close" said Hans, "We're almost dead in the water here."

"What? They're sending a message" Marika checked the comms, "Surrender or die. You have three minutes."

"To hell with that. How far do we have to go?"

"Fifty thousand kilometers."

"I'm open to any ideas."

The silence was deafening.

"Running it is then" said Hans, "Pray that they don't hit us with another one of those damn missiles."

"Energy readings!"

A storm of flak and laser tore through the asteroid belt, pecking at the ship. The turrets swivelled rapidly, striking against the small fleet. The blaster bolts struck home against the shields. A few broke through and punched through armour, but the damage was minor. Hans fired a pair of missiles that slammed into the two corvettes. The enemy's laser cannons were destroyed, but their missile launchers still followed orders. Another missile burst far ahead of Das Boot.

"Come on baby, hold together" muttered Hans to the ship, "Just a little further, just a little further."

_There must be something we can do. Every one of those shots is getting closer, so they must be compensating for the jammer. But the jammer is strong enough to jam our own sensors. That's it!_

"Tina, cut power from the sensors and boost the jammer to 100%" ordered Marika.

"Are you nuts?" protested Hans, "If we put the jammer to one hundred percent we'll be flying blind!"

"Not blind, you still have the most reliable sensor of them all" smirked Marika.

"And what's that?"

"The Mark I Eyeball."

Hans smiled, "You heard the word, Tina. Listen up everyone, we're flying blind. So keep your eyes open and those blasters firing."

"San-daime, I need you to keep engines and shields to maximum. Draw power from all sub-systems, even life support" ordered Marika.

Tina pushed the jammer to maximum output. Every screen became a haze of static. The storm of projectiles and lasers calmed around them. The little fleet floundered and moved erratically to try and dodge the lumbering rocks without the aid of their precious technology. Meteoroids crashed into a corvette crippling its engines. A pair of ships desperately tried to keep the pursuit while dodging. In the chaos of confusion the ships collided. The explosion created a cloud of twisted metal and hot gasses and threw small meteoroids in every direction. Das Boot continued to brave the field. She weaved clumsily around the rocks, leaving a flurry of laser fire in her wake.

"Oh god."

Two massive ice blue asteroids blocked their exit. Rings of meteoroids whizzed around at blinding speed. The rocks crashed against intruding stones creating bursts of lethal hail. The enemy fleet regained their bearings and started to fire again.

"Dive! Dive! Dive!" shouted Marika.

"We won't be able to get around that" replied Hans, "I've got an idea."

"Is it a good one?"

"If it is, we'll be fine. If it's not, we'll be dead, and so it won't really matter" Hans pounded the console, "Cut the jammer! All guns forward! Full power to the shields!"

Das Boot fired its remaining missiles. Streams of smoke trailed behind the warheads. Mary and Orvar swung around and fired rivers of red blasters into the massive asteroids. A thunderous thump shook the ship. The deadly torpedo that has crippled two battleships lumbered ahead, following the streams of smoke and laser. Moments felt like minutes as the assault surged through space.

Small flashes flickered on the asteroid and ring. The flurry of lasers turned a section of the ring into harmless space dust and started to melt the surface. The missiles zoomed ahead through the cloud and bore a deep hole into the rock. The lumbering torpedo screamed after the missiles and flew straight into the creator they created. Eyes fixed on the asteroids with bated breath.

"Yahoo!" cheered Hans.

The massive ice asteroid cracked and split in half. The two chunks drifted apart pushing away everything in its path like a cue ball on the billiards table.

"Tina, get that jammer back up and running" ordered Marika.

Das Boot flew through the cloud of ice and dust. Hans flipped the ship on its side and flew through the narrow crevasse between the asteroids. The remaining ships behind them fired blindly. Flak created shards of ice, the blasters made plumes of steam.

"We're out of the field" Marika cheered, "Tina stop jamming and let's start on those repairs."

"And we've lost the last two ships" said Mary, "We're in the clear to rendezvous."

"We're not in the free and clear yet" said Hans, "Take a look."

Far ahead of them flashes and streaks appeared against the black velvet. Marika squinted and faintly made out many large shapes circling each other.

Marika pressed the comms, "Tina bring that jammer back up. San-daime, scramble to repair as much as you can. Mary, Orvar, you're work isn't done yet. Hans…"

"On it. Programing next jump."

"What's going on captain?" asked San-daime.

"The Bentenmaru is under attack by the rogue pirates."

Six ships surrounded the Bentenmaru. Three were frigate class ships armed with basic flak turrets and a few missile silos. The flak peppered the shields to little effect.

A pair of the assailants was light cruisers armed with point defense blasters, heavy missile launchers, and a pair of beam cannons. The cruisers slowly took the flanks of the pirate ship. The beams streaked across the sky and splashed against the mighty shields. A swarm of missiles burst from the launchers and scattered around the Bentenmaru. Shrapnel rained around the ship creating an impressive display, but doing little in the way of damage.

The final ship was a battleship that rivalled the Bentenmaru in size and power. Phasor banks lined the hull. Railguns lines the broadsides with smaller flak cannons. Red phasor rays bored through the shields and started to melt the armour. Massive projectiles from fired from the railguns with magnificent speed and force. The crash into the shields shattered them and the shrapnel that remained crashed into the thick armour and tore through. Painted on the hull of all the ships was a large white emblem: a smiling skull with a cybernetic eye.

"Marika to the Bentenmaru, what's your status?"

"We're taking a bit of a pounding" said Coorie, "But we can still fight."

"We're going to have to jump" said Hans.

"Our FTL is still functional, send the –"

The cruisers fired a storm of missiles and beams. The beams smashed through the shields and splashed harmlessly against the armour. The missiles flew erratically without any feasible path or purpose. Many exploded harmlessly in the emptiness. But a few found their mark and crashed into the large engines. Plasma poured out of the breaches, the blight lights dimmed and the ship slowed significantly.

"That last one knocked out our FTL" said Coorie, "We're in deep trouble now."

"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve, Captain" said Kane, "We can keep this up until the repairs are done."

"Without me there, the repairs could take up to thirty minutes" said San-daime, "More if they keep taking hits like that."

"I've got several warp signatures approaching" said Hyakume, "It's another pirate fleet!"

"I thought you made the call" said Hans irately.

"I did!" said Marika.

Five destroyers dropped out of hyperspace, led by a battleship. The destroyers were shaped much like traditional naval vessels with several large turrets along its top and torpedo tubes to the front. The ships were pained a dull rust red and orange.

The battleship was the same size and shape as the Bentenmaru and had a large missile, as large as a destroyer, strapped to the underside. Several engines glowed magenta as it surged toward the battle. A large booster attached to the top of the ship pushed the battleship to speeds it would never be capable off. The ship was pained in blue camouflage with light blue bands and yellow tips on the many fins. The emblem of the pirate was a side-faced horned skull, without a lower jaw, enclosed within a triangle. Six streams of beams soared across the skies and grazed the nose of the rogue battleship.

"This is Kenjo Kurihara of the Barbaroosa, leading the Pinkerton Response fleet. Power down your weapons and surrender. But please, don't. I'm rearing for a good fight."

The rogue fleet's frigates turned to face the Barbaroosa. Their flak and fire did nothing against the strong shields and thick armour of the fleet. The fleet replied with a fury of missile fire. The warheads slammed into the shields and through the armour. Plasma and fuel ignited and sprayed out from the breaches. The engines died and the ships tumbled harmlessly in the emptiness of space. Their last actions were to spray streams of flak all around them as they rolled and tumbled, desperately trying to hit the allied fleet.

The cruisers slowly tuned about. Their engines glowed brightly. Swarms of missile and beams of laser covered their retreat. The Barbaroosa fired its cannons. The lethal beams shattered the weakened shields and destroyed one of the cruiser's engines. Their power dropped instantly and a message was broadcast on all frequencies: We surrender.

Tears into hyperspace appeared and within moments the second cruiser and the leading battleship fled.

"The call got through" smirked Marika.

"They took their damn time showing up though" Hans smirked back.


	12. Chapter 11

"Welcome back, Captain" said Kane as Marika stepped onto the bridge.

"It's nice to be back. Hans' is getting antsy, so let's get this meeting over with."

"That'll have to wait" said Misa, "The crew of the Barbaroosa and a few of the Pinkertons are here to have a quick chat."

The saviours of the Bentenmaru waited patiently in the captain's office. Kenjo drank from a large bottle while Chiaki patiently read from a small book. The Pinkerton fleet commander was a very old man with long black beard and a scar across his cheeks.

"How can I help you today?" asked Marika dressed in her captain's outfit.

"We're here to deliver your share of the bounties" said the Pinkerton, "The four ships, plus the pirates you weeded out in the mine comes to… twenty thousand credits."

"Twenty thousand! Awesome!"

Marika reached out for the bag of chits, but it was quickly snatched away.

"However, when you account for all the damages the mine suffered, you're reward should be enough to dent the reparations."

"Drat" said Marika, "But why are you here, Chiaki-chan? Surely he could have delivered the reward on his own."

"Don't call me Shirley" said the Pinkerton.

Chiaki looked up from her book, "We have other business to discuss. Captain Oda, if you don't mind."

"I'll join him" said Kenjo.

Captain Oda grunted and departed. Chiaki waited until she was absolutely certain that no one was listening beyond the door.

"Marika, what have you gotten yourself into?"

"What are you talking about Chiaki-chan?"

"Drop the chan. This isn't normal pirating work. Providing security and assisting law enforcement is one thing, but it seems like rogue pirates are targeting the Bentenmaru specifically now. I have to ask myself why that is."

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing" said Marika nervously, "Rogue pirates do what rogue pirates do right?"

"Then why call us here specifically? It was like you knew trouble was a foot."

"I had a hunch" Marika shrugged.

"Well, it seems I can't make you tell me," Chiaki gave Marika a cold look, "But I hope you know what you're doing. I 'have a hunch' that things will only get much more difficult from here on out."

"Don't worry, Chiaki, I'll be fine."

"I certainly hope so" said Chiaki softly with a hint of concern.

_I wish I could tell you, but if it's going to get as big as you think it will be, I'd rather not drag you into the crossfire._

Marika walked toward the bridge with her head hung low. Repair crews scurried around her patching holes and repairing breaches caused by the battle. The bridge was filled with both members of the Bentenmaru and Das Boot. The holographic image of the single star system floated in the middle of the room.

"Anyone recognize this system?" asked Kane.

"According to our stellar maps it's the Mourning Star System" said Luca examining the navigation screens, "No colonies, no mining operations, nothing is there."

"And the numbers?" asked Hans.

"I can't see it."

"Coorie, how's the work on the data pad going?" asked Marika.

"I've cracked it" she said proudly, "Unfortunately, most of the captains of the Original Seven are deceased, most from combat. Meaning that the ships are probably destroyed as well, and we'll need to salvage them like the last one."

"Any connections to Silent Night?"

"All records and references to Silent Night have been completely eliminated."

"How's that possible?" asked Hyakume, "I thought the links were isolated once you got the record."

"They must've destroyed everything once they realized it was missing" said Coorie, "Meaning, we're being watched and someone doesn't want us to even get close to Silent Night."

"They mustn't be watching that closely" said Mary, "We've got five of the pieces now."

"Maybe they're waiting until we get all seven" said Misa, "Nevertheless, we need to be careful."

"Did we get anything?" asked Marika disappointed.

"Not much, but I did get this" Coorie brought the data up on the display, "This is the Battle of Tor. According to this, the Original Seven fought a large unidentified vessel."

"Did they win?" asked Marika.

"Stunning defeat" said Coorie, "The Original Seven were force to retreat after sustaining heavy damage. The unidentified ship left the system and I'm guessing ended up wherever the Original Seven finally beat it."

"So…"

"I'm getting there. The next records link to the Battle of Raynet, a couple of years after Tor, which was during the conflict of with the Galactic Empire. And at that battle, the Geist was abandoned and never recovered."

"And the Geist was one of the Original Seven I take it" Marika slapped her hand on the desk, "Once repairs are done, set a course for the Raynet system."

"Das Boot needs to repair and ream," Hans grinned like an alligator, "But, we're so close I can taste it."

"I suggest we return to the Sea of the Morning Star for the time being," said Kane, "We know it's safe and secure. It'll be a good place to resupply."

"And for some R&R" said Mary hopefully.

Hans sighed, "Alright, you've earned it."

"Great!" said Marika, "Now, let's head down to the mess for dinner."

The mess was a mess to say the least. The crew was still working hard to put everything back into place. Wires hung from the ceiling and the walls. Metal plates and shrapnel were being swept aside and collected to be reused or sold. Both crews sat at a table with makeshift chairs. The meal of the day was a thin curry with rice.

"I'm telling you there's nothing better than good rum and a smoke after a meal" said Hans offering cigarettes.

"A smoke, definitely," Tina grabbed one eagerly and happily started to puff, "but rum depends on the meal."

"Smoke ruins the taste. Rum makes everything better," Mary took a swig from his flask and passed it around, "What do you think, Marika?"

"Well, I think a good meal doesn't need any enhancement" she said politely turning the vices down.

"Suit yourself" said Hans taking a puff and swig, "Ahh… this is worth a song and a dance."

"Speaking of songs" said Marika, "What was that one you sang in the mines, Mary?"

"You don't know _Hanging Johnny_?" asked Mary, "I thought every pirate knew that tune. Well, where do I start? It's a song about hanging."

"Something every pirate should be afraid of" said Hans.

"But why hanging?" asked Marika, "It seems so depressing."

"A pirate's life isn't always high tides and good winds" said Mary sadly, "And we know that better than most. The song about the losses pirates suffer as it is about hanging."

"And who is Hanging Johnny?"

"No one in particular" Mary grinned sadly, "Could be anyone. The lawmen, the barkeep, your friends and family, anyone that took something from you."

Tina ashed her cigarette and started to hum the tune.

HANS:

They call him Hanging Johnny

(Away, boys away)

They call him Hanging Johnny

(So hang, boys hang)

ORVAR:

He hanged my little kittens

(Away, boys away)

And turned them into mittens

(So hang boys hang)

TINA:

He hanged my jolly brother

(Away, boys away)

T'was me and him, no other

(So hang boys, hang)

MARY:

He hanged my faulty father

(Away, boys away)

And took me and my mother

(So hang boys, hang)

HANS:

They hanged my wife and daughter

(Away, boys away)

And left me for the slaughter

(So hang boys, hang)

ALL:

They call him Hanging Johnny

Away boys, away

But hanging isn't funny

So hang boys hang

The room went silent. The crew of Das Boot stared into their empty plates as if drifting back into long buried memories.

"I'm so sorry" said Marika.

"Not your fault" said Orvar, "It is life of pirate. Something we accepted long ago."

Hans smirked and laughed, "A pirate's life is what it is, neither fair nor foul. But there's one damn thing that'll certainly make you scowl."

The crew of Das Boot smiled and joined in, "A pirate's life if bloody hell but the treasures do seduce. But no matter where you go, the man comes with the noose!"

HANS: So tell me lass what will you do when the noose comes for you?

TINA: I'll smoke! (She'll smoke!) 'Til my lungs turn black as tar. There's no point in running, cause you'll never ever get far. So tell me lad what'll you do when the noose comes for you?

ORVAR: I'll fight! (He'll fight!) Until my knuckles bleed. Even if I go hanging, I will never plead. Tell me lass, what will you do when the noose comes for you?

MARY: I'll drink! (She'll drink!) Until I can't stand straight. For if I'm drunk and happy, I don't care about my fate. So tell me lad, what'll you do when the noose comes for you?

HANS: I'll toast! (He'll toast!) To Death and the Devil himself! For once I'm done my hanging, I'm going straight to Hell!

The crew of Das Boot let out a boisterous cheer and drank deeply. Marika and the others were slightly horrified at the grim songs. Their partners were truly a different breed of pirate.

The Bentenmaru dropped out of hyperspace and limped into the Ceti system. Das Boot followed closely, taking cover in the battleship's engine wake. The large hull breach was clearly visible but the bulkheads kept any more air from escaping. Life support returned to normal, but the crew's EVA suits were always close by.

"Attention Bentenmaru and Das Boot, you are clear to dock. Your requests have been received and we will do our best to assist" said the relay station.

"Understood" said Marika, "We will begin docking immediately."

"Five signatures dropping out of hyperspace" reported Coorie, "They're Corback-class escorts, Stellar Military. And they're charging weapons!"

"What! Why?"

"Das Boot is preparing to jump" said Luca, "They've sent coordinates. Should we follow?"

"Spool the FTL, but we're not leaving yet," Marika stood confidently, "Stellar Military vessels, power down your weapons and stand down. This is the Bentenmaru, a Letter of Marque pirate and legal citizen of the Tau Ceti system. We demand to know the meaning of this."

"Bentenmaru and Das Boot, power down your systems and prepare to be boarded. You are under arrest for acts of illegal piracy and assaulting law enforcement. I repeat. Bentenmaru and Das Boot, power down your systems and prepare to be boarded. You are under arrest for acts of illegal piracy and assaulting law enforcement. We are authorized to use deadly force if necessary. Resistance is futile."

Violet beams surged from the small ships and barely grazed the shields. It was nothing but a warning shot, a very threatening one at that. Without warning a gravity well sank around the Bentenmaru's aft.

"Das Boot has jumped" reported Luca.

"They're charging weapons for another round of attacks" reported Schnitzer, "Maximum shields."

The beams crashed against the shields, splashing like waved against the cliffs. The assault was hard against the battered Bentenmaru. Its defenses crumbled and the Stellar Military was preparing to engage in combat.

"Schnitzer, launch decoys and prepare to engage in ship to ship combat" ordered Marika.

"We're going to fight them?" asked San-daime with a bit of panic.

"Not unless we have to. San-daime, Luca, get that FTL going, we need to jump to Hans' coordinates now!"

A squadron of drones flew from the Bentenmaru projecting false shadows as they flew. Kane threw the wheel and forced the Bentenmaru into erratic maneuvers. The Stellar Military spurred their engines and moved to engage. Schnitzer released a few scattered and weak bursts of fire and forced them to spin and turn, buying precious few seconds.

"Jump!" ordered Marika.

The Bentenmaru slipped into hyperspace to an unknown place. The ship re-entered normal space. Das Boot was feigning death as it waited patiently for its ally. The space was shrouded in a blue-green nebula. The dense cloud of gas created large amounts of chaos with the sensors.

"Any damage?" asked Mary.

"Nothing worth worrying about" said Marika, "We still need to resupply and repair, though. But it looks like any place with Stellar Military is out of the question. Serenity should be a safe harbour."

"Maybe, maybe not" said Misa, "If the Stellar Military wishes to arrest us, they've probably tried to enlist the help of local forces. This includes the Serenity Defense Force."

"I know where we can go" said Hans, "Sending coordinates."

"Coordinates received" said Luca.

"We're getting a message, high priority" said Coorie, "It's Show."

"Yo, Marika, what the hell have you been doing!?" he asked with surprise and disappointment, "This is not what you are hired to do, girl! Damn."

"What are you talking about, Show?" asked Marika.

"I'm talkin' about dis" he said as his image disappeared.

A young woman dressed in a proper suit and tie appeared behind a large glass desk. In the background was a field of tall buildings lit up against the night. Words scrolled along the bottom of the screen as she spoke.

"This is the Galaxy News Network," she said, "Our developing story is the sudden betrayal of the Bentenmaru. The letter of Marque pirate seems to have gone rogue and engaged in illegal acts of piracy and aiding and abetting a known criminal."

"Is Hans getting this?" asked Marika.

"I'll funnel it to him now" said Coorie.

The woman disappeared and a video appeared. The Bentenmaru was engaged in combat with a destroyer above a planet. Shots exchanged and the destroyer caught aflame. In a few moments the destroyer exploded in a magnificent fireball.

"Our sources indicate that the destroyer was the Pinkerton vessel CL-0931. Pinkerton has confirmed the ship was lost near the Alpha Ceti system some time ago. The ship had a crew of 150, all of whom were lost."

"What? That ship was raiding Fairy Jane cargo ships!" protested Marika, "We were acting as part of our contract and in self defense."

"We have just received the last message of CL-0931 was garbled, but a reliable source was able to correct for the interference and provide us with the real message."

A small graphic appeared in the upper corner of the screen, "All ships in the sector, we have been engaged above Ceti Alpha V. This is a distress call! Captain Kato of the Bentenmaru, this is a Pinkerton Security vessel. You are currently aiding and abetting a known criminal with a substantial bounty. Disengage and leave the Ceti Alpha V. Surrender or die."

"That's impossible!" said Mary, "We were jamming them the entire time, and we destroyed their communications systems."

The news anchor appeared again, "The criminal Captain Kato is accused of aiding is the petty rogue Hans Schafspelz of the Das Boot. He is charged with several counts of illegal piracy and smuggling. He is currently pursued by Pinkerton Security on behalf of law enforcement and Starburst Shipyards."

"Lies!" protested Hans, "I'm behind on a few lease payments with Starburst, but I've never done any piracy or smuggling!"

"Pinkerton Security has offered a reward for any information about Das Boot or the Bentenmaru" a page was handed to the reporter, "We've just received word that the bounty on Hans has been doubled to one hundred thousand credits by an third party. In other news…"

"So, Marika, how do you explain all of this?" asked Show.

"Cypher" said Hans over the other channel.

"We encountered a rogue pirate that goes by the alias Cypher near the Alpha Ceti system," began Marika, "That ship dropped out of the system with weapons charged" said Marika, "And they fired on us first. We acted in self defense. You can confirm this with the captain of the Slow and Steady. The freighter we were escorting at the time."

"But why would Cypher want to make you a wanted criminal?"

"Cypher appeared after our little shore leave to Alpha Ceti V. We fought him off but he threatened to destroy us unless we gave him what he wanted. This must be his way to undermine us."

"And what exactly does he want?"

Marika shook her head, "I don't know, but I suspect that the fact the Bentenmaru is one of the Original Seven may be part of it. But hey, we've worked together for a while now. You should know the kind of character I am. We trust each other."

"You do have that right. The Bentenmaru has been one in a million and I know you're not the kind of person to betray someone's trust" Show nodded, "I'll see what I can do from here. You probably won't be able to return to Stellar Alliance or Colony Federation systems in the near future. Is there anywhere you can go?"

"I've got it covered" said Hans joining in on the conversation, "Don't you worry about it."

"Wait, aren't you the criminal Marika is accused of helping?"

"Lies! Slander and lies" said Hans, "I'm just a freighter captain. Marika can vouch for my trustworthiness."

_Though I have my suspicions, he is my only real chance. And he hasn't done anything so far._

"Aye" said Marika, "We've been helping each other out."

"Alright" said Show, "I'll try to get this resolved. Good luck, Marika Kato."

"We'll meet you at the coordinates" said Hans, "Good luck."

"And you."

Das Boot slipped away into hyperspace, leaving the Bentenmaru in the serene silence of the nebula. The crew prepared to follow the little freighter, but Coorie's console began to flash once more.

"Incoming message from the Serenity Defense Force" said Coorie, "It's highly encrypted. Woah, it's got the royal seal on it."

"Could it be Guier or Grunhilda?" asked Marika.

"Only one way to find out. Putting it on screen."

"Yotof?"

"Yes" said an elderly man with rolled grey hair and thick eye brows. He was dressed much like butler with his long black tail coat and white dress shirt, "Please forgive the abruptness of our call, but this is an urgent matter."

"Do Guier and Grunhilda need help?" asked Marika with a bit of concern, "Anything we can do, we'll do it."

"You're concern and unwavering friendship with the royal princesses is most admirable" Yotof bowed, "But it is not the princesses I wish to discuss. Your recent adventures have caused quite a stir in our houses of government."

"Those news reports are lies! A rogue pirate called Cypher is trying to blackmail us."

"Trust us, we do not take a single word of those reports to truth. But those allegations are not what we wish to discuss. Though I suspect they are related."

"Alright… what seems to be the problem then?"

"I request that you meet me at these coordinates" said Yotof pushing a few buttons, "This channel may be encrypted, but what I wish to speak with you about must remain a secret. We will wait for you. Thank you."

"Kane, jump to the coordinates Yotof sent us" said Marika, "Hans will just have to wait."

"Aye, aye."

The Bentenmaru arrived in a system very close to the Serenity home worlds. It was a three planet system, all gas giants of red, green and yellow. The Queen Serendipity held its position above the yellow gas giant. Its violet twin blade-like hull shimmered in the glow of the star. The two ships docked with each other and the delegation walked aboard.

"So, what's this all about?" asked Misa.

"First, I ask that you please return the data pad you've stolen from the archives" said Catherine, a young woman with black braided hair, "And yes, we do know about it."

Coorie handed her the data pad, "Wasn't very useful anyway."

"I assume this has to do with the information we were trying to access from that pad" said Marika, "Am I not mistaken?"

"You are correct" said Yotof, "I assume you are searching for the lost ship, Silent Night. Am _I_ not mistaken?"

"You are also correct" said Marika, "Now, why is the Serenity Defense Force so concerned with an ancient ship?"

"Silent Night is not what you think it is" said Yotof, "The Original Seven agreed to keep its location secret at the request of the Serenity Royal Family. It is a weapon of horrendous power. Thousands of Serenity sailors perished at its hands and our home was sieged by the pirates for a time because of it."

"So that's how it could safely make port in the system" muttered Marika.

Yotof nodded, "We cannot ask you to cease your search. No, you may have gotten much farther than we anticipated. And many others may be searching for it as well now."

"What do you need us to do?"

"We would like you to find Silent Night" said Yotof, "And destroy it."

"But why? What is so dangerous about a single pirate ship?" asked Marika, "From what I've heard, it's just full of treasure."

"The Silent Night possesses – "

"Captain! We have several ships dropping out of hyperspace" said Hyakume, "They are charging weapons."

"We need to go" said Marika.

"Agreed" said Yotof running down the hall, "Stay safe, Captain Kato."

"Here, take this" said Catherine, "The royal sisters asked us to deliver it to you personally."

"Did they know you wanted to speak to me about Silent Night?"

"No."

The Bentenmaru and Queen Serendipity quickly broke off from each other and slipped away before the other ships could enter firing range. They arrived at Hans' coordinates. It was a strange system, if it could be called as such. It was nothing more than several small moons orbiting a massive stone planet. City lights illuminated the planet making it seem like an artificial star. The little moons housed small space stations. Hundreds of ships, of all shapes, sizes, purposes, and armament, entered and left the area regularly. What was most memorable however, was the warm welcome of pop-up messages and videos.

A flamboyant man appeared on every screen, dressed in ornate and overly bright coloured clothes, "Hello and welcome to the last hope, the last stand, the last sigh, the last sleep! The magnificent, marvelous, mesmerizing, majestic pirate ports this side of the galaxy. We've got grog and grub from every part of the galaxy, even parts you have never heard of! Don't want drink or food? Well we've got companions that would be happy to make your acquaintance. Not in the mood for some new 'friends'? Or perhaps something with a little more punch is your style. We've got those as well, and the best part you ask? No questions asked. Anything and everything you want is at your fingertips. Provided you have the credits to back it up. Welcome to the last place you'll never want to leave. Welcome to the port in the abyss, Tortuga!"

"What an annoying ad" Marika complained.

"Oh, I'm not an ad" said the man, "Welcome to Tortuga. Now, what are you looking for?"

Misa muted the channel, "As much as I hate salesmen, it might be a good idea to ask if he's seen Hans. There are too many unsavoury folks here and the less time we spend here, the better."

"Agreed" Marika unmuted the channel, "We're not looking for something, but rather someone. A man –"

"If you're looking for men, might I suggest the The Mate Arms on the third moon. If you're willing to pay a little extra through, I must recommend –"

"We're not looking for that" she said, "Just a single man named Hans Schafspelz."

Ah, the captain of Das Boot. Well, I might have seen him" the man smirked, "But my memory is hazy."

_Of course it is._

"How much?" asked Marika.

"From what I hear is a very valuable man now a days" he smiled slyly, "Let's start the bidding at say, fifty thousand."

"Fifty thousand! We could buy a new ship for that amount" said San-daime.

"We'll give you twenty-five" said Marika, "Half of it paid now, the other half when we find him."

He laughed, "Don't insult me captain. How about forty, all paid immediately."

"Thirty, half now, half later."

"Thirty-five, all immediately."

"Forty" Marika conceded, "Half now, half when we find him."

The man smiled satisfied he had conned his way through a sham, "Well then, I do believe we have an –"

"You need to work on your negotiating skills."

"Mary?"

"One and only."

"Consider our negotiation closed" Marika abruptly ended the conversation much to the annoyance of the salesman.

The Bentenmaru shook slightly as Das Boot forced its gangplank into position. The door involuntarily opened. Within minutes Mary and the rest of the crew had arrived on the bridge, fully armed and dangerous.

"What's the meaning of this?" asked Misa.

"You want to find, Hans?" asked Mary, "Then you better get ready. Cypher's found us. We gotta grab Hans and get the hell out of Dodge. Come on, we'll show you the way."

"Slow down," said Marika, "What happened?"

"Thanks to your little delay, we stayed here longer than we wanted to" began Mary, "After we resupplied, Hans decided to wait for a day and let everyone have a little time for R&R while we waited for you. That bounty announcement earlier today drew a massive number of bounty hunters and ne'er-do-wells to look for him."

"And I'm guessing to ran into a couple."

Mary nodded, "And guess who tipped them off."

"Cypher."

"Exactly. Listen, I could go over every detail, but the more we sit here talking the more likely he's pulled some info about Silent Night from Hans."

_I wonder if it would be better just to destroy the Boatswain's Call and let the secrets die with Hans and me. No, the Serenity Royal family asked me to destroy it._

"Let's go get Hans" declared Marika, "But we can't exactly go in guns blazing."

"You have a better idea?"

"We do it your way. The sneaky way" Marika started to plan, "Coorie, I'll need you to buy everything we need to get the Bentenmaru up and running in tip top shape, alright?"

Coorie sighed disappointedly, "I'll go get changed."

"Change?" asked Tina perplexed.

"Don't mind it" said Marika, "Schnitzer, Kane, Misa, we're going to go with Mary and Orvar to grab Hans."

"What about the rest of us?" asked Hyakume.

"And me?" asked Tina.

"I see where you going" said Mary, "You three need to stay here and get these ships ready to go in case everything goes under."

"Okay."

"So where's Hans?"

Mary pulled up a map of the system on the console, "Cypher's currently here on the surface of the planet. His entire little fleet is docked at the Syndicate Hub, a hive of villainy and scum. My kind of place."

The Hub was stuffy and crowded. A dense smoke covered the place like a thick winter blanket. It's probably best not to ask what the smoke was made off, though the light headed feeling was quite pleasant. A large band played a jolly tune near the central, circular bar. The building was like a spoke wheel, with ten corridors connecting the outer ring to the central chamber. The central chamber was no more than a glorified bar with platforms form men and women to dance. Alcohol poured freely from taps and spilled from mugs as the patrons grabbed, and groped, and kissed, and fought each other with every passing moment. The outer wheel was calmer and drenched in shadows. Dim lights served only to display a variety of products and items, though most transactions occurred behind sealed doors and away from prying eyes.

"That one" said Mary in a waitress outfit, "That's Cypher's dock."

"Five guards, heavy armed" said Orvar in a teamster's uniform, "No challenge. Fights happen often here."

"That's not why we're here, Orvar" said Schnitzer in the same clothes, "I doesn't look like they're accepting shipments today. So we won't be able to fake a delivery."

"We know the port, maybe we can sneak in from the outside" suggested Misa.

"We need an engineer for that" said Kane, "And the two we know are waiting for the word of trouble. Hey, you're headed to the 'clinic' right? Maybe we can barrow a couple of their uniforms."

"I'd rather not do full physicals today, thank you very much" said Misa with a hint of disgust.

"Who said anything about a physical" said Mary, "We just want the uniforms. If you're really irked by it, just close your eyes and think about Kane."

Kane choked.

"I did not need to see that image in my head" said Misa, "But I'll see what I can scrounge up. As for you two, what exactly is your plan?"

Marika placed a pair of tall glasses on the table and collected the credit chits. The patrons make a couple lewd jokes but let her go on her way without much hassle. A hard bump on her back nearly made her drop the tray.

"That one" whispered Mary, "He's a bridge officer on Cypher's ship, and exactly like we thought."

"And drunk" added Marika.

"You ready?"

"I'm not sure."

"We can always try Orvar's way."

"We both know how well that will go" Marika sighed, "Okay, I'll follow your lead."

"Another bottle of whiskey!" shouted the officer, "And a round for everyone here! HA! HA! HA!"

"Here you go trooper. This one's on the house" Marika winked.

"Hey there, why don't you take a break and share a shot with me" the officer poured two glasses, "Name's Orion, and you?"

"She's busy. But, I'm free" said Mary circling her finger around the glass lip, "And I'm much better company, sailor."

"Buzz off, Mary. The handsome man asked me."

"Go back to the bar, Maria" said Mary, "Let the grownups have their talk."

"Now, now ladies" smirked Orion, "There's more than enough whiskey to go around. Why don't you both take a seat? I promise my company is enough for a whole crowd of people."

"Fine" said Mary and Marika reluctantly.

The three of them sat at the small table and idly chatted away for a couple of hours. Orion wasn't boasting, he truly was enough company for a crowd of people, a crowd of deaf and dumb people perhaps. The blind and mute would have envied the deaf if they had to spend even a single moment with him. Between the onslaught of crude jokes, and storm of remarks about their bodies was a flurry of belches and hacking coughs. Mary and Marika grinned and bore it, and were never more thankful than when the moment arrived.

"My how the time flies" Orion belched, "Say, you ever seen the inside of a battleship? _My_ battleship to be exact."

"You serve on a battleship?" Mary feigned amazement.

"I'm the captain" he boasted, "So, you want to see my big ship?"

"Why yes, I would" said Mary.

Orion gladly took them from the bar and through the long corridors with his arms wrapped around their waists. The ladies paid particular attention to the time and the crowd. When they had agreed to walk with Orion, it was very late in the night. The crowd had dispersed and become nothing more than a trickle. The lights were dimming, turning the waves of darkness into a deep pitch black.

"The work was hard and the wages low. Leave her Johnny, leave her. For the voyage is done and the winds don't blow. And it's time for you to leave her" sang a baritone voice, "The old steam pump is like the crew. Leave her Johnny, leave her. She's all worn out and just won't do. And it's time for us to leave her…"

"Pipe down you damn deckhand! Damn bastards don't have an ounce of class" Orion belched, "It's not far. Just down that hall."

Mary shot Marika a quick look. The two of them gently led Orion into a dark corner, far from any prying eyes.

"Hey, what are we doing here?" he asked.

"I just can't wait" said Mary planting a kiss.

Orion didn't hestitate. He let go of Marika and wrapped his arms around Mary.

"So did you want to – AHHHH!"

Orion released him embrace only to start a series of spams. He clenched his teeth to the point of grinding them down. Foam sputtered from his mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed, completely unconscious.

"Oh thank God that's over" said Mary spitting, "If I had to spent one more minute with him talking I'd have done something we'd all regret. And then some."

"Same here" Marika started to pick him up, "Damn this guy is heavy."

"Wait" Mary poured a flask of rum all over Orion, "You ready?"

"He smells like a cheap tavern, has two lovely girls carrying him back to his ship, and it's too late for anyone to give a shit. We're as ready as we'll every be."


	13. Chapter 12

Girlish laughs and giggles ran down the hall. Marika and Mary stepped out of the darkness with Orion draped over their shoulders. Four men stood outside the airlock to Cypher's battleship. They gave the group perplexed looks as they approached.

"Hold it" a guard raised his hand, "What's going on here."

"Oh, this old sailor had a little too much fun" said Marika, "And he made us a promise."

"And what promise was that?"

"To show us the inside of his ship of course" Marika said, "Silly, he's the captain."

The guard rolled his eyes, "Oh is he now? You two, take the 'captain' back to his quarters. You two can go now."

"Awww, but we were so looking forward to a little tour of the ship" Mary left Orion and traced her finger over the guard's chest, "Perhaps you can show us instead."

The other two guards grabbed Orion. The first was a very burly man, a mountain of meat and muscle. He second has brown-blonde hair and appeared to be very young. Though hidden beneath their caps, they had oddly familiar faces. The blonde one gave her a wink.

_Kane!_ _So he must be Orvar._

Kane and Orvar dragged Orion toward the airlock.

"What is that?" the guard reached for Orion's shirt.

Mary quickly spied a scorch mark from the stun gun they used. She quikly tried to draw their attention away by flirting. They would have none of it and their patience had worn thin. The guards shoved Mary aside, knocking her into the metal wall.

"What the hell?" asked the guard perplexed.

"Don't touch that man!" shouted a woman's voice.

Misa appeared dressed in a doctor's coat and carrying an aid kit. She pushed the guard aside and made Marika hold the kit as she searched for several implements.

"You stupid man" scolded Misa, "Don't you know roughly handling a man in his state is can exacerbate his condition? Hopefully, I've administered this in time."

"What?" asked the guards, "He's just drunk."

"Drunk and infected with Tiberium Influenza, a highly contagious and virulent disease." said Misa sticking a needle into his arm, "The two combined are lethal enough as it is. Adding strenuous activity would destroy his chances of creating antibodies could be near nil. Now, as for the rest of you, roll up your sleeves, you need an inoculation."

"But we feel fine" said the guards.

"For now, the gestation period for the disease is can take up to two weeks" said Misa, "And after you can expect coughs, high fever, chills, vomiting, sleeplessness, boils, pustules, gangrene, and diarrhea. Of course you could be lucky and not infected. It's your choice."

Their eyes widened and jaws dropped at the list of symptoms. Without an ounce of hesitation they rolled up their sleeves and took the injection.

Just as Misa was preparing the shots for Marika and Mary the guard shook his head and said, "Wait, those aren't Tiberium Flu symptoms."

"Yeah, what the hell gives?"

Misa began to explain, "Well you see –"

The first guard began to spasm and twitch as Mary shoved the stun gun into his gut. The second guard fumbled for his baton. Before he could even touch the handle, Orvar buried his fists into his jaw and knocked him out with a single blow. The crew of the Bentenmaru stared at the two.

"What was that about?!" shouted Misa in a hushed tone.

Mary looked at her like it was obvious, "They were catching on. So, I took the natural step and knocked them out for the next few hours."

"As did Orvar."

"I put a strong sedative in the needle," Misa buried her face in her palm, "They would have been unconscious in a few seconds."

"Ugh, I hope you don't do this inside the ship" said Marika, "Speaking of which, how is Schnitzer going to get in. I don't see him with you and he's not exactly the most inconspicuous character."

"He's waiting outside" said Kane, "Literally. He thought it might be best if he waited on the hull of the ship and stayed close to an access port ready to drop in at a moment's notice."

"How will he know where we are?"

Kane showed a small red transponder hidden up his sleeve. The group quietly hid the unconscious guards beneath a pile of trash in a dark corner.

"So what's the plan?" asked Marika.

"The same as last time" Mary wrapped her arms around Kane, "Just a different host. You don't mind do you sailor?"

Kane blushed and nervously said, "No, I don't mind."

"Good" winked Mary.

"And you go with Orvar" said Orvar putting Marika on her shoulders.

"Hey put me down!"

"Good! That's good! Now, just watch head as we walk in."

"And what are we going to do about him?" Misa asked, pointing to Orion.

"You carry him to sick bay" said Mary as she waltzed in with Kane.

"I'm a doctor, not a teamster."

Marika climbed down off Orvar and took Kane's other arm, "Orvar, give Misa a hand."

"Da" he replied, plucking Orion with a single arm, "We go. Doctor leads."

The troupe walked through the airlock and onto the enemy's home. The ship was almost as archaic as Das Boot. The halls were devoid of any form of technology except for the few consoles that provided only rudimentary functions. Each room and connecting hallway was protected by thick dark steel door that opened vertically.

Misa accessed the console and brought up a map, "There's the brig. That's where they'd probably keep him."

"That or the captain's office" said Mary, "Depends how much he wants to gloat. Anyone want to place bets?"

"Either one, sick bay is on the way" said Misa.

An armed group of men started to march down the hall. Mary pushed Kane against the wall and started to play with his hair and whisper in his ear. Orvar kept a firm grip on Orion as Misa prepared another faux injection. Marika nonchalantly whistled as the men passed. The group stared for a few moments and grumbled for a bit before laughing down the hall.

"What the hell happened to him?" asked the ship's doctor.

Before Misa could even utter a word of a long winded medical explanation, Orvar charged and smashed his head into the wall. The doctor fell unconscious as blood flowed from his nose.

"You really need to let us handle this," Misa dropped Orion and examined the doctor, "Looks like a severe concussion, you may have cracked his skull too. Hopefully they have another doctor on staff or he'll be in trouble."

"Can you do anything?" asked Marika.

"He's not our problem" said Mary, "Let's head to the captain's office, grab Hans and get out of here."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mary on this one" said Misa, "I'll give him a mild pain killer to tide him down."

"I think he'd be in the brig" said Kane, "Hans' always seems to have a trick up his sleeve so keeping him where some sensitive information may be, probably isn't the best idea."

"But Cypher would want to keep him close so he doesn't try those funny things," said Mary, "He's with Cypher in the captain's office."

"It's up to you Marika" said Misa, "Brig or office?"

Marika thought long and hard, "We'll head for the brig."

"Alright, let's go."

The group quickly navigated the halls and corridors, jumping into random rooms and side access ways to avoid guards.

"Two guards on the outside" said Mary, "Pretty standard."

"Want Orvar to crush skulls?"

"No!" said Marika, "We'll handle it this time."

"Suit yourself, but if things get out of hand, Orvar will crush skulls."

"Misa, do you still have some sedatives?" asked Marika.

"Yes, what are you planning."

"Orvar, have you ever played darts?"

"Many times. Win many times too."

Mary nodded to confirm his claim.

"Ready?"

"Almost" said Misa drawing the liquid into the needle, "Now, the auto-injector is meant for a specific dose of epinephrine."

"Anti-what's-a-whose-it?" asked Mary with a perplexed look.

"Epinephrine. It's for deadly allergic reactions," said Misa.

"And why is that important."

"I was getting to that," Misa pushed the rear of the needle causing it to squirt, "Since this is not meant for sedatives, the dosage will either be too much, too little, or –"

"Goldilocks" said Mary.

"What if it's too much?" asked Marika.

"Overdose will cause death" said Misa grimly, "But only if its past a certain tolerance."

"Well, let's hope for the best then" said Kane, "Ready, Orvar?"

"Of course" Orvar closed an eye and held the tiny needle in his massive hand like a dart.

"When I say three" said Marika softly, "One… two… three."

The needles flew through the air. Orvar's dart drove itself straight into his guard's chest. Kane's flew true but dropped and pierced the guard's thigh. The guards raised their weapons and swivelled their heads about, searching for their attackers. Immediately upon impact the needles injected their drowsy liquids into the flesh. Their eyelids grew heavy and with dull, hard, thuds, they were out like lights. The group leaned against the wall ready to burst through at a moment's notice.

"How are they, Misa?" asked Marika.

Misa pressed her fingers against their necks, "Alive, but they won't wake up for a long while."

"How many do you think are inside?" asked Mary.

"Two, maybe three" said Kane.

"How do you figure?"

"Just guessing."

"Only one way to find out" Orvar punched the console forcing the door open.

Orvar charged in shouting profanities as he went. Mary followed, stun gun cracking in her hand. Kane was about to call in Schnitzer, but Marika grabbed his arm to stop him. The brig was dark and dank and smelled like putrid waste. There were five cells that surrounded a small open area with a lonely chair and table. In each cell were a large bucket, a simple sink, and a bright fluorescent light. There wasn't a soul in sight, but heavy breathing and groans said someone was waiting in the darkness. A line of blood snaked from the table to the furthest cell.

"Hans!" called Mary.

"Stille Nacht ist nicht in Serenity. Ich weis nichts. Nicht sonst. Das Schiff folgte ein Weg durch sieben Sternsystemen. Sie wissen bereits, dass. Der nächste bei ..."

"Hans, it's me, Mary" she said running to his cell.

A static field shocked her and pushed her away. Without any thought she smashed the console beside the cell and tried to step through again. Hans was a damn mess. His eyes were swollen, bloodied and black. Dried blood drenched his shirt and pooled around his feet. His wrists and ankles were cuffed to a metal seat and a tray of strange, sharp implements waited in a tray nearby. Cuts and blunt hits covered his body. Hans continued mutter and mumble in German.

"Hans, Hans, it's me" said Mary with warm concern as she wiped the blood from his face, "We're here to get you out of here."

"Mary?" Hans swollen eyes tried to open, "Ich… kann nicht gehen. Beine gebrochen. Damn actors didn't come. Fuck."

"They're here Hans," said Mary, "Marika and the rest of them are here to help you. Orvar, pick him up."

"Da" Orvar broke the chains with the implements around him, then carried Hans on his back.

"Marika is here?" asked Hans in a haze, "What took you?"

"Important business" she replied, "What did you tell them?"

"Nothing" muttered Hans.

"What the hell is going on here?" asked a gruff voice.

Five men stood at the entrance. Two wielded rifles while the others held swords. When they unsheathed their weapons the blades screeched and continued to scream as they pointed at their hearts. The group only had a stun gun between them and the strongest of them was carrying the wounded man.

"Drop the kraut and your weapons, then walk into a cell" ordered their leader calmly, "Do it. Now!"

"Make the call" said Marika.

"Gladly" Kane slapped his wrist.

"That was it?" asked Marika.

"That was it?" asked the guards.

"THAT WAS IT?" protested the rest of the group.

"That was it" said Kane.

"Alright boys, force them in."

The riflemen aimed their rifles and fired a warning volley at their feet. The swordsmen walked forward with screaming swords, Mary cracked her stun gun and prepared to fight. Hans muttered something and Orvar dropped him, hard. The captain of Das Boot groaned when he hit the ground with a blunt thud. Misa went to Hans' side to quickly check his injuries and give him a pain killer. Orvar cracked his knuckles and smiled at the prospect of a good brawl. The brute charged forward laughing maniacally as he went. The swords screeched as they glanced off his broad body. Cuts and slashes made rivers of blood, but Orvar didn't care. He threw fist and foot and elbow and knee in a storm of strikes. One of the guard's arms was caught in his grip and a distinctive, disgusting cracking sound came soon after. The iron grip released the sword and made Orvar's smile widen.

"Now, I have sword too" he grinned.

"Shoot to kill" said the leader.

"Roger!"

The rifles took aim directly at Orvar's chest as he joyfully fought off the others with a sword. Mary jumped through the crowd and tried to bury the stun gun in one of their sides. Marika and Kane joined the charge trying to grab their guns. Shots fired. A scream and a splatter of blood. The stun gun rattled against the ground and Mary put pressure on her left shoulder.

"Shit" she cursed as blood flowed down her arm.

The riflemen adjusted the aimed directly at Marika and Kane. There was nowhere to run or take cover. The world seemed to slow down as their fingers squeezed the trigger. Marika's life flashed before her eyes.

CRASH AND THUNDER!

A cloud of dust and smoke surrounded everyone. Everyone broke out into hacking coughs and painful watery eyes. Shots were fired randomly in every direction and ricocheted against every surface.

"Tear gas. We need to get out of here" said Misa.

"Fuck my life" mumbled Hans as he coughed up blood.

"Don't worry, I've got you" said a deep voice, "Quick put these on."

Marika felt something get pushed into her gut. She could barely make out the shape through the tears and gas.

_A gas mask. Schnitzer!_

The cyborg forced the mask on Orvar who was flailing wildly and still laughing at the fight. Misa put the mask on Hans immediately before tending to her own.

"What took you so long?" asked Marika half-jokingly.

"Nearest access point was fifty meters away" he replied, "The way is clear."

Mary grabbed a rifle and tossed the second to Marika. Kane picked up a sword as he ran through the exit. The way was clear, barring the few unconscious bodies that lined the hall.

"Anyone getting an uneasy feeling" asked Marika.

"Yeah," said Mary putting her finger on the trigger, "This is too easy."

"Maybe we caught them with their pants down" said Orvar.

Kane shook his head, "That's not possible for someone like Cypher."

"How very perceptive."

A lone man stood at the end of a hall with a bright, wide smile. He was dressed in a bright red suit with sparling studs throughout the cloth. A massive polka dot bow tie ballooned around his puffy white shirt. A pair of mirror glasses hid his eyes and reflected light just like his white teeth. He held his arms wide open as if he was welcoming them to his shop.

"What are you doing here?" asked Marika.

"Why, I'm here to tell you about a great opportunity" he removed his glasses and revealed his cybernetic eyes, "It's quite simple, give me what I want and I promise that no harm will come to the Bentenmaru."

"Cypher" growled Mary.

"I wouldn't aim that rifle if I were you" he smirked, "Now, give me Hans and the Boatswain's Call and you can go back to pretending to raid cruise ships and the like."

"Kane, is there –"

"I wouldn't count on a rescue or some Deux Ex Machina excuse" said Cypher, "Now the Boatswain's Call, please."

Cypher's crew walked around the halls with weapons powered and aimed. Marika pulled the whistle from her around her neck and held it out. Cypher smiled triumphantly as he stepped forward to claim his prize. A shot rang out and shattered Cypher's wrist. The cybernetic man screamed and recoiled. Before they could react, Orvar threw his sword and drove it through the stomach of a rifleman. His hand contracted spraying bullets in every direction. Everyone dove for cover and waited for the clip to empty. Schnitzer stripped away Marika's rifle and laid down suppressing fire.

"We should get going" said Mary calmly.

"Yeah" said Marika. 

Those who weren't fighting ran to pick up Hans and carry him out. While the guards cowered behind walls to avoid Schnitzer's fire the group ran down the hall to the shouts and orders of Cypher. Mary smashed Cypher's face with the butt of her rifle. Orvar retreated and put a blade against his neck.

"You come with us this time" he said.

"Go to hell" said Cypher.

"In due time" said Mary, "Listen up! Stop firing and let us go or your boss gets it!"

"They got Cypher!" shouted a voice.

"Drop your weapons!" shouted another, "Go back to stations, the ship is ours again."

A small man, about Marika's height, came out with his hands up.

"Go," he said, "Go and leave us be; and take that asshole with you. We'll give you no trouble."

Everyone surrounded Marika and Hans, and cautiously went through the ship with Cypher as hostage. They continued through the empty station and arrived safely without incident.

"Too easy?" asked Mary.

"Too easy" said Marika, "Schnitzer, take our guest to the brig. Everyone else, let's get the heck out of this place."

"I'll send you coordinates as soon as I get to Das Boot."

"Don't bother" said Marika, with a slightly cold tone, "I'll send you a set this time."

"Alright."

"Hans will have to stay here for a while" said Misa, "Orvar, help me take him to the medical bay."

"Da."

The two ships unbuckled from each other and sped off into hyperspace to an unknown location. Cypher had changed into simple grab and paced restlessly in the brig. An ever watchful Coorie monitored him in every waking moment and erected a plethora of cyber defenses in case he should try anything. Hans lay in a medical bed with tubes and bags pushing fluid into his body. Bandages wrapped around every part of his body and stemmed the bleeding. Misa returned often to monitor his condition. She sat at her desk peering through a microscope and conducting several chemical tests.

"How is he?" asked Marika.

"Doing better" said Misa as she typed a few notes, "But it'll be a while before he can move again."

"A few days" said Marika, "What in the world did they do to him?"

"Broken legs, arms, shattered ribs, blunt force trauma all over the body, minor concussion, cuts and lacerations," Misa flipped through pages on her data pad, "They didn't treat him, so there are a few infections as well."

"Dear God."

"And this" Misa showed a picture of Hans' blood work.

It was all gibberish to Marika, "What is it?"

"Truth serum" said Misa, "And a very potent one, and at near overdose levels. There's no telling what he told Cypher."

"But he said he didn't tell them anything."

"With something this potent, the victim loses all capacity of conscious thought leaving them very vulnerable to suggestion. They'll reply without realizing it. Hans may believe he told them nothing, but the reality may be very different."

"Ah, so the warden comes to pay me a visit. How may I be of service, Captain Kato of the Bentenmaru."

"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you" said Marika, "The men of your little fleet abandoned you. And there's no way out of these cells."

"Well good help is so hard to find when your payment comes in blackmail. Wouldn't you agree?" Cypher let out a sigh, "I guess you wouldn't know anything about that would you."

"What do you know about Silent Night?" she demanded.

"I take it that bloody saw bones of yours discovered my little truth serum in the old man" Cypher smirked, "I know everything you know, and then some."

_This must be part of his plan then._

"Give me a good reason not to throw you out an airlock."

"You'll need me to get the next piece. Oh, yes. Your friend was very cooperative while in my custody."

Marika didn't say a word.

"I can tell by your puzzled look and silence that you don't know what the next piece entails" Cypher smirked, "Well now, it seems I have the advantage in this negotiation. Shall we make a deal then?"

She replied with silence.

Cypher sighed, "Here is my proposition, I will assist you in acquiring the final pieces, rescind my bounty on your comrade in arms, and make those awful news reports just disappear. I'll even throw in a couple free pieces of information on what every topic you like. In return, I simply as for Silent Night. Quite generous, no?"

"The treasure –"

"The treasure?" Cypher laughed, "I don't care about material wealth. I want the ship itself."

"Why? The ship is ancient and we doubt it's serviceable."

Cypher shook his head and disappeared into the shadows, "How little you know."

Marika continued to pose question after question, but Cypher refused to utter a single sound. The captain gathered her crew. Das Boot listened through an encrypted communications channel. A monitor sat in the centre of the room keeping an every watchful eye on their prisoner.

"So, Cypher says he knows that secret to the next piece" said Kane, "Anyone else thinks he's bluffing?"

"That was my initial thought as well" said Marika, "But there's just a feeling I can't shake about what he said."

"Gut feelings tend to steer you right" said Hyakume, "But it's an awfully big risk to place any trust in the man that tried to kill us."

"Several times," added Mary with a distorted voice, "Still, he might be useful."

"He's useful as a prisoner" said Schnitzer, "Behind bars he can't call out to any of his friends or allies. Once we let him out, there are no guarantees."

"Well, unless he sends out a word all those bounty hunters, pirates, and everyone else that wants a piece of the prize will still chase us" said Mary.

"I sense you have a plan" said Marika.

"Take him up on his offer."

"Are you insane?" protested San-daime.

"I'm perfectly sane" she replied, "Take him up on his offer, let him send out the message and once that's done we throw him out an airlock and be done with Cypher for good."

"Betrayal most foul" said Misa, "Though; I'd be lying if it didn't seem like poetic justice."

"Poetic justice or not, we'd kill two birds with one stone."

"We're going to err on the side of caution" said Marika, "Keep him in his cell and keep an eye on him. Show said he'll handle public relations for us so we'll have to trust him."

"What about safe harbour?"

"Serenity will be our port in the storm, just as it was to Silent Night" said Marika, "For now, set a course Raynet. We're going to get the piece from Geist."

"Understood, captain."

"Hey, how's Hans doing?" asked Mary with much concern.

"He's unconscious, but he'll recover" said Misa, "But it will take a while."

"Mind if I come aboard to visit?" Mary paused, "If it's not too much trouble I mean. Just a short visit, is all."

"Sure" said Marika warmly, "You can come aboard whenever you like."

"I'll see you in a few minutes then."

The channel closed and everyone began to file out. Except for Misa, that is.

"Did you need something, Misa?"

Misa shook her head, "No, not exactly. I just noticed you didn't tell Mary about the truth serum. A rather interesting maneuver."

"There are too many things that don't seem right" said Marika, "Cypher captures Hans, but let's the others go. They find us and bring us to Hans, we break him out, only to be caught be Cypher near the end. That's a lot of coincedences."

Misa nodded, "But you forgot the part where their rash actions allowed us to break out and capture Cypher."

"Again, another coincidence" said Marika, "One in a while is normal, but several in one day shouts something is wrong."

"Do you think they'll stab us in the back?"

"I don't know" she replied, "But I won't rule it out either."


	14. Chapter 13

"Tina's keeping everything together back on the ship. But it's pretty quiet without you. Well if you consider quiet an absence of conversation. Orvar's been making a right racket with his new workout routine. Don't worry, he's only beating the life out of scrap metal. Nothing important. I'm doing pretty okay. You pretty much covered everything when you taught me to fly it, but it's really strange flying it alone for as long as I have… and without you."

Mary sat at Hans' bedside nonchalantly talking to him. The old man was under a deep sleep as painkillers flowed down a long plastic IV. Misa worked in the background, ignoring the one sided conversation out of kindness, or perhaps disinterest.

"Is everything alright?" asked Marika as she stepped in.

"Misa says he's doing well" said Mary holding Hans' hand, "Up and about in a week or so, right, Doctor?"

"If all goes well" said Misa analyzing the data pad, "For some reason, there's a consistent presence of alcohol in his blood stream. But I can't seem to find the cause."

Marika raised her eye brow and gave Mary a knowing look. Mary just looked away and pretended not to notice.

"If the old man could talk" began Mary, "I think he'd offer you a swig of rum, then thank you for saving him."

"You're really close with him aren't you" observed Marika.

"Like father, like daughter" Mary snapped to reality, "Figuratively I mean. Like he said before, we're not actually related."

Marika sat beside Mary, "I've been wondering about that. So, how did you meet exactly?"

"How did you become Captain of the Bentenmaru?" asked Mary.

"I asked you first" Marika giggled.

"But my question is less personal" Mary smiled.

"Or so you think it is" said Marika.

"Ooohhh, mind games" Mary laughed softly, "Who is going to answer first?"

Marika relented without so much as a quarrel, "Well, the captaincy fell to me after my father died. Wait, didn't we go over this?"

"Maybe" Mary shrugged, "But I forgot. Was your mother a pirate too?"

"Yes, a very famous one from what I understand."

"More than famous" said Misa, "She was a legend."

"Was she a captain too, or just the first mate like me?"

"Misa?"

"Once upon a time she was captain of her own ship. Then she met your father and came aboard here."

"Wow, I learned something" said Marika a little embarrassed.

"It's like your mother is a complete stranger to you" said Mary, "You know, we're not as different as I thought we were."

"So, how about your question" Marika tried to change the subject, "How did you and Hans meet up."

"He hanged my faulty father," Mary started to hum 'Hanging Johnny', "And took me and my mother. So hang boys, hang."

Marika was horrified, "That was him."

"Not exactly" Mary began, "Hans found me on a barge, about two or so years after the pirates killed my father. It is a long story."

"We've got the time" said Marika, "And I doubt Hans will mind… in his current state anyway."

"Two years went by very slowly, and I wish I didn't remember them," Mary began, "It was late in the night and the place was starting to get very busy. And as I walked down the hall, I saw him."

The barge was large and spacious, occupying several floors. Women, both plain and beautiful, lined the halls, giggling and laughing and flirting. Men ran about chasing skirts, holding drinks in their hands and spilling it all over the floor and walls. Replicas of art accentuating feminine beauty were hung in every place possible. Five large crates sat in the main hall with Hans and another man close by.

"The hell do you mean only half?" shouted Hans.

"Exactly that. You will only be paid half" said a very tall thin man. He was dressed in a fine silk suit with a golden tie. His hair was raven black and slicked with grease and gel and product, much like his twirled thin moustache. Piercing red eyes stared down the captain as he continued to shout and protest.

"I got it all here in perfect condition and three days ahead of schedule" screamed Hans, "If anything you should be paying me more for the express delivery!"

"An express delivery that dragged half the quadrant's law enforcement with it. My business specializes in providing vices from every corner of the galaxy. WITH ABSOLUTE DISCRETION!" the man outstretched his arms, "You are very lucky I am a ship and not planet side, otherwise this deal would be crushed before your eyes."

"To hell with you Lazarus!"

"If you do not want your payment" said Lazarus holding out a card, "Then I would be happy to end all of our business."

"Have fun with your product," Hans snatched the card, "Because you and I are done."

"Don't be like that chum. Let me make it up to you. That ship of yours can use a maid," Lazarus snapped Mary over, "You're his now. Consider this a bonus for your trouble, Hans, my friend."

Mary, dressed in a tight short black skirt, matching high heels, and a tight crimson sleeveless top, was pushed toward him. Hans eyed Mary up and down and smirked. Mary's face furled and frowned. When their eyes met, Hans' smirk disappeared behind a stern face.

"We're still done" growled Hans, "Come on, girlie."

Mary snapped back when he touched her bare arm. Without a thought, on pure instinct, she threw a hard punch that connected with his sternum. He let out an 'oof' and recoiled back a few steps.

Lazarus chuckled, "A bit of a feisty one she is. She refuses to work, unlike her mother, but perhaps you will have better luck. Here, take a vial, it might help. And you are welcome to my hospitality."

A small vial, the size of the little finger, filled with a multi-coloured liquid tumbled into Hans' hand.

"Get on the ship" Hans grumbled, "Now!"

Das Boot was the same then as it was now, a horrendous mess but a home. Hans grumbled as he closed the cargo bay ramp. Mary, still fuming, leaned against the metal wall shooting sharp angry looks at her new owner.

Mary glared at the rugged man as he threw open a locker. He shot her a quick look and tossed her the vial.

"I'm not taking this" said Mary shattering it against the floor.

"Well, that's your choice, but the time would have passed much more quickly if you took it," he replied unfolding a long jacket, "Now be a good girl and stay here for a bit."

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I've got unfinished business with Lazarus," Hans concealed two pistols in his jacket, "Stay here and be quiet. I'll drop you off wherever you want after I've collected what's owed to me."

"Wait!"

Hans drew his pistol, "What? Are you going to try and stop me?"

"You can't just walk in guns blazing" said Mary.

"I've got a plan" said Hans holstering the gun, "These are just in case. If you aren't going to stop me, why so interested?"

"I owe Lazarus" said Mary, "And I intend to pay in full. With a bullet in his head."

Hans raised an eyebrow, "I'm listening."

"I know this ship like the back of my hand" said Mary, "All the little access ways, and the little secrets that don't ever get used. Take me with you and we'll reach Lazarus without so much as a raised eyebrow."

"And what do you want?"

"My mother."

"Sorry, can't say I know her."

"No, you dolt" she said, "She's on the ship. We are going to take her off this place and bring me and her back home. Deal?"

Hans smirked, "Sounds fine by me."

Mary wrapped her arm around Hans' and they walked back to the barge.

"What are you doing back here?" asked a crewman.

Mary started to giggle uncontrollably.

"I had a moment to think and cooled off. And well you see,"" Hans smiled, "She convinced me that Lazarus' payment was more than generous. Now, since my ship is in a bit of a damn mess, I thought I could barrow yours for a couple of hours. Lazarus did promise his hospitality."

The crewman raised an eyebrow, "Uhh… sure. Go ahead."

Hans and Mary strolled by laughing with painted smiles.

When the man was far enough away, Hans whispered in Mary's ear, "That was a raised eyebrow."

"And he's a dumbass" replied Mary, "The next right will take us to the lift. We'll head to the cargo bay from there and use the access ways to reach Lazarus' quarters."

"What are we up against, Moxie?"

"A couple security cameras, nothing else. Moxie?"

"You've got moxie, Moxie. What about armed guards? Alarms?"

"A pair outside but we can wait until the change and sneak in. The only alarms we'll need to deal with are if you decide to bust down his front door."

"Talk about minimal security."

"This is a barge where no one wants to be discovered" said Mary, "Stirring up trouble doesn't exactly align with that."

Hans and Mary peered around the corner. Two burly men armed with scatter lasers kept a drowsy watch.

"How long to do we have to wait?" asked Hans.

A little rapid series of beeps emanated from the guards pocket. Lazily, they walked away leaving the door unguarded. However, the heavy thump of boots was scarcely heard in the distance.

Hans shook his head in disappointment, "Lazarus you arrogant little bastard."

Mary went ahead and quickly input the door code. Hans nonchalantly stepped inside only to be pulled to the side. Before he could protest, Mary shushed him and pointed up toward the corner. An ever vigilant camera panned across the cargo bay peering through the darkness for anyone out of place. Its brother was across the room examining sectors where the other could not.

"We going to pull one of these crates over us and walk around like a damn fool, or what?" asked Hans.

"Sarcasm won't help" said Mary, she pressed up against the boxes, "This way."

The two rogues snuck through the cargo, ducking behind crates and crawling beneath crevices. Hiding from the ever watchful eye was not their only concern. Every step was taken with extreme care and calculation for any misstep could cause the cargo to tumble. The great ruckus that would certainly ensure would be their end. The end of their little journey was an maintenance access way pried open by Mary.

"Damn, you're resourceful. You sneak into these places often?"

"Always. After you."

"Ladies first."

"I insist."

"No" Hans drew a pistol, "_I _insist."

Mary reluctantly crawled into the cramped space. Hans followed with his pistol pointed at her behind. The air was hot and stuffy. Power conduits buzzed beside rushing water pipes and scalding gas pipes.

"You can put the gun away. We're on the same side," said Mary, "and I can't exactly to anything when I'm in front of you."

"There are many things you can do when in front" said Hans.

"Like what?"

"Nice try, Moxie, but I'm not that stupid."

Mary rolled her eyes, "We are still on the same side."

Hans grunted.

Mary turned around in a slightly wider junction. In the centre of the junction was a large square grated panel. Beneath was a magnificent room with a mahogany desk and drawers. A large feather bed with silk sheets rested atop a golden bedframe. Lazarus was happily drinking a very old, very rare whiskey while speaking freely with a woman with red hair. The woman was dressed in garb similar to Mary's and was angrily dusting the shelves, scrubbing the carpet, and generally cleaning the room. Lazarus often pointed to sections; probably pointing out spots had been missed. More often, he spilled some of his drink about the room and chuckled satisfactorily.


	15. Chapter 14

Mary held Hans' hand, "And that's the long story."

"Wow" said Marika, "I'd have never guessed he could be so… vengeful."

"That was one of the rare instances when he gets like that" Mary admitted, "He doesn't like being cheated. As I'm sure any pirate wouldn't be."

"So that mysterious benefactor" said Marika, "I think I know who it was."

"Oh, I know who it was too" smirked Mary.

"Who?" grumbled Hans.

"You know" said Mary, "How long were you awake?"

"Long enough. She's exaggerating girl" Hans drifted in and out, "I'll fill you in on the details. First –"

"You'll have to fill them in later" Misa rolled a large device beside the bed, "For now, we'll have to mend those broken bones."

"Hey, how's that do that?"

Misa rolled a scanner over Hans' arm, "It promotes rapid bone growth and the screen here will let me fix all the micro-fractures that may show up."

"Cool. I'll see you later, Fumbles."

"See you, Moxie" said Hans weakly, "Hey Kato, don't get the next piece without me okay?"

"Don't worry. We won't get to Raynet until a week from now" said Marika, "By then, Misa will have you up and about in no time, right?"

"Not that soon" said Misa concentrating on the treatment, "But you'll be functional in time."

Das Boot appeared from the flash of hyperspace. The large Bentenmaru followed shortly after, lumbering through the seas of space while its small companion buzzed about like a busy bee. A flood of a thousand voices shrieked through the comms.

"This is the Holy – Save our – This is Captain Clark request – Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! - In the name of God – Mother, if you've found this – We are declaring an emergency – Caleinte! Caliente! - Coordinates – under attack – One hundred aboard – We need medical – Abandon ship! Aband –"

"What is that?" Kane shouted over the torrent of noise.

"Distress signals!" yelled Coorie, "I'm counting over fifty different signals. All from this system."

"Hyakume, find those ships! All hands prepare to rescue –"

"I've found the ships!" Hyakume reported, "They're surrounding the planet and –"

"Turn the damn speakers off!" shouted Kane, "We can barely hear you!"

Coorie shut down the system and the bridge let out a relieved breath as silence appeared.

"Better."

"Hyakume, about those ships" said Marika.

"They're all around the –" Hyakume's jaw dropped, "Sorry Captain, there are no life signs."

"What? On screen."

An armada of vessels drifted around a large planet. Several had been cracked in half and suffered grievous wounds from sustained barrages of ordnance. Strangely, most of the ships were still intact with lights flickering on and off as the last of their precious power was slowly being drained away. A dense cloud of shrapnel and twisted metal shrouded the derelicts, becoming larger and thicker as the derelicts collided and shredded each other in the high orbit.

"How did this go unnoticed?" Marika though aloud.

"What caused this?" asked San-daime.

"Geist, most likely" said Kane.

"We're getting a message from Das Boot. Er… a text message."

Too much radio chatter. Our sensors can't see much through all the junk. Yours any better? -Mary

Hyakuma tried to make sense of all the data but he just shook his head. Coorie sent a simple reply: Nope.

Want us to check it out? –Mary

Sure, be careful. –Marika

P.S. Hans okay to go? – Mary

Misa nodded and left to grab the other captain.

Yes.

Das Boot's engines flashed as it soared far ahead of the Bentenmaru. The battle ship followed its little friend but stopped just beyond the grey cloud above the planet. Das Boot cut its main engine power to minimum and relied almost solely on thrusters to maneuver through the dense field. Small pieces of metal and spare parts pecked and glanced off the hull. Communication was limited to slow and sparse texts. The silence was deafening.

Can't see anything out of the ordinary. Too many ships. Sensors got squat. Comms cluttered with ghost calls.

"This is hopeless" complained Marika, "It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack."

"I think that would be easier" said Kane, "But there's not much we can do without sensors."

"Huh" muttered Hyakume as he ran through keystrokes.

"What is it?" asked Marika, "Did you find Geist?"

"it's nothing" Hyakume dismissed, "Just ghosts in the machine."

"I see it" declared Luca.

San-daime rolled his eyes, "Sure you did."

"Energy readings!" declared Hyakume, "About 500,000 kilometers out, bearing –"

A yellow beam smashed through the derelicts creating an explosion of charred and molten metal. The beam passed dangerously close to Das Boot, leaving only a few meters of space between safety and catastrophe. The little ship fired its engines to full power and surged away from the thick cloud as fast as it could and hid in the wake of the Bentenmaru.

"Marika, Mary is asking, and I quote" Coorie began, "'What the hell was that?' end quote."

"Hyakume?"

"I have no idea. That attack came out of nowhere."

The lights suddenly darkened, emergency power failed to kick in. The comms flared up and a torrent of voices blared through the ship. Their please and cries and shouts of desperation would drive anyone mad.

"What is going on?" hollered Marika, "Why did our systems suddenly go haywire?"

"I don't know" yelled Coorie over the noise.

"Fix it!"

"I can't! Something has completely hacked our systems and I can't get back in!"

"What do you mean you can't get back in?"

"Exactly that! Everything was rewritten! It's like it's a completely different database from a different ship!"

"Manually hack it."

"I'm trying, but it's adapting and countering at a speed I never thought possible. It's inhuman."

The ship suddenly fell silent. The lights glowed dimly, giving only enough illumination to see the light reflect from eyes and lustrous surfaces. Coorie furiously hammered the keys trying to regain control of the vessel. Every advance was countered, every keystroke rendered useless, every thought read before it even came to conception. Initially, Coorie was fascinated by the challenge, but soon she grumbled and mumbled and ground her teeth as the frustration got to her.

"B-b-b-Bentanmaru" echoed a woman's voice.

The crew looked at each other trying to find the source.

"B-b-b-Bentenmaru sp-sp-sp-spotted in the R-r-r-r-Raynet system. C-c-c-confirm identity."

"You first" challenged Marika without thinking.

A woman's face, broken by static, appeared on every screen. She had short, boyish, purple and pink hair that was much longer in the front. Several small scars lined her right cheek. Her long bangs shrouded the upper half of her face, but one could scarely make out a large eye patch covered the left eye. Light penetrated through the brush of tangled hair and reflected off the milky white from a partially formed cataract in the right eye. A thick burgundy bandana concealed the lower half of her face, but every time she spoke the cloth would take the shape of her mouth.

"This is a representation of the c-c-captain of the G-g-g-Geist. Sc-sc-sc-Scarlet Tr-tr-tr-Trugbild. Identify – identify – identity."

"Marika Kato of the Bentenmaru."

The lights flickered and flashed like lightning. The woman's face disappeared behind a veil of scrolling numbers and letters. She spoke at a million miles a second as tsunamis of data gushed through the systems.

"Contradiction! Contradiction! Contradiction! Current captain is not Marika Kato. Transponder data states ship is Bentenmaru and captain is Marika Kato. Contradiction! Contradiction! Contradiction! Extrapolating data. Conclusion: Hostile forces have seized Bentenmaru. Hostile forces pose as Captain Kato. Supposition: Hostiles searching for Geist for single purpose. Action: Destroy Bentenmaru as per the wishes of her previous captain."

"No! I am the captain of the Bentenmaru" said Marika, "I am the daughter of Gonzaemon Kato, and the great-granddaughter of the Bunzaemon Kato, both captains of the Bentenmaru."

"Bunzaemon Kato recognized. Analysing. No known descendants."

"Shields!"

"She's locked us out" said Schnitzer, "I can't raise shields or power weapons."

"What the hell is going on?" asked Hans as he limped onto the bridge.

"Not now! Engines" ordered Marika.

"Locked out" said San-daime, "We're so screwed."

"Brace for impact!"

The crew grabbed hold of the nearest thing that was welded down. They clinched their eyes and held their breathes. Nothing.

"I'll say again" said Hans releasing his death grip, "What the hell is going on?"

"No energy readings, no incoming missiles or ballistics" said Hyakume analysing the sensors, "No other ships in the area. Just a lot of jamming, I'm guessing it's from Das Boot. But I can't find… wait, there they are."

Das Boot soared toward the field of ghost ships. Small beams flashed randomly into the darkness missing the little ship by miles and meters. The little ship swerved and pirouetted through the sky. After countless beams had fired the little ship retaliated. Pulse lasers stormed into the debris, breaking apart hulls.

"Clever girl" said Hans proudly.

"What? I don't get it."

"Oh, I see" said Hyakume, "All beams come from a source. The simply waited until there were enough to triangulate the point of origin. But how is that possible without sensors?"

"Eyeball it" said Marika with a smirk.

"Eyeballs or not, they won't last long if the Geist starts and electronic warfare attack."

"She's a clever girl" said Hans, "She won't let it happen. But we should worry about ourselves first."

"Right" said Marika, "What is Geist doing to our systems?"

"She just shut us down" said San-daime, "We don't have engines, weapons, shields, even doors and security cameras are out. Sensors are still operational for some reason but there's too much junk anyway. Communications are down, and… shit!"

"I don't like the sound of that" said Misa.

"Life support is out too" said San-daime, "I can't reroute power."

"How long do we have?"

"A day, my guess" said San-daime, "Don't go thinking that's a long time. Without any way to power up the systems or leave to go back to a station, we're as good as dead."

"We need a plan and we need it now" ordered Marika.

"We don't really have many options," said Kane, "We'll need to find Geist and shut her down."

"But our assault shuttles can be hacked just as easily" said Coorie as she diligently worked to counter the intrusion, "And they don't have nearly as much air."

"Das Boot can take us" said Hans.

"Unless she's unhackable then we're still –"

"She's doing a hell of a lot better than yours" said Hans as his ship returned from the sortie.

"So… how is she unhackable?" asked Marika.

"She isn't" admitted Hans, "But the ship's so old that none of our systems are networked. And we can always switch to manual control in an emergency. Though I'll bet Mary's already done that."

"Let's suit up then" said Kane already enclosed in the suit, "Like I said, we don't have many options."

"Right" said Marika, "Who's going and who's staying."

"Coorie has to go" said San-daime, "If you need to hack a system she's the girl to do it."

"No way" said Coorie, "I'm staying here to try and save the Bentenmaru. Also, I hate away missions."

"But we need a crack hacker in order for this to work" said San-daime, "And no offense, but I doubt Tina has the same skills as Coorie."

"Why don't we have Tina just shut the ship down then?" suggested Kane.

"I, er, I mean _We_ still need that map piece" said Hans, "Coorie you have to come with us."

A loud crash rumbled through the ship. A message flashed across the screen. Das Boot had docked and was ready to receive them.

"I'm staying here" Coorie said definitively.

"Then who will we get to hack the Geist?"

Misa thought briefly, "There's always…"

"Oh, no" said Hans, "Not him. Didn't you forget what he did?"

"Didn't you suggest we take him up on his offer?" retorted Marika.

"This is different" said Hans, "Our lives weren't reliant on him succeeding back then, unlike now."

"I don't like it either, but if Coorie's determined to stay, we can't force her to leave" said Misa, "Also, Cypher dies both ways if we fail. It's in his interest to help us."

"But what about Das Boot?" Hans said, "How do we know he just won't take my ship and go off to wherever."

"There'll be enough of us to keep him in check" said Marika, "And if it'll make you feel better, we'll keep him in cuffs. Alright? We need to go, right now."

"Fine" said Hans reluctantly, "Let's go get him."

"And to what do I owe this unexpected visit" smiled Cypher in his cell.

"You know why we're here" said Hans, "Now suit up. We're headed to Geist."

"So you've considered my offer. Very wise. Now let us go. The ghost in the machines can be quite relentless."

"Hold it" Marika grabbed Cypher's arms, "There's just one small thing."

Cypher scowled as he was forced to place his arms behind him and be bound. A basic EVA suit would serve to protect him; though basic may not be the best word as his was far more advanced than those used by the crew of Das Boot.

Das Boot released its grip on the Bentenmaru and soared toward the debris field. Das Boot threw itself in every direction to dodge the beams. It was hard to fathom that an ancient vessel could penetrate the powerful jamming device of the Bentenmaru. As the little ship approached the beams got closer and closer. Debris shattered into a thousand pieces that pummelled the shields.

"There she is" declared Mary as yellow beams scattered around the ship, "This is going to get hairy."

Marika peered out into the debris field. A yellow flash forced her to shield her eyes, but when they recovered, she saw the ship. The Geist. The ship was massive, but shattered and battered. The Geist had a long, elliptical, square head with the bridge being nothing more than a bump on the surface. The sides of the square head were two very large cylinders containing large fusion cannons. The rest of the ship was a long hexagonal cylindrical hull that connected to six massive capital engines. The engines themselves had been blown apart; a cloud of cool blue plasma followed the ship as it aimlessly drifted. Three smaller beam dual-cannon beam turrets lined the ship's hexagonal back, aimed with the assistance of the few remaining operational thrusters.

"Brace for impact" warned Mary.

Das Boot cut its engines and forced its starboard thrusters to full power. Everyone inside grabbed hold of the hull, but still they haplessly floated in the confined halls and rooms. The little ship spun like a disk and crashed into Geist, connecting the access ports without the need of a gangplank. Beams continued to fire and flare but Das Boot was well covered by the Geist's hull.

"Everyone ready to go?" asked Kane through the EVA radio.

"Roger" they replied.

Hans and Orvar and Mary would represent Das Boot and keep an ever watchful eye on their cooperative prisoner. Kane, Schnitzer, Hyakume, and Marika would lead the expedition. Each of them was armed with pistols and sabres. The two large men, Orvar and Schnitzer, preferred to use a large scatter laser and assault blaster rather than swords.

"Remember, we've got our eyes on you" said Hans to Cypher.

"I recall vividly" said Cypher, "But should I forget, I trust you will remind me."

"Let's go" said Orvar pumping the scatter laser, "Waiting is making me anxious."

"Alright" Mary took a deep breath, "Three… two… one."

A gust of wind whirled through the door. Orvar and Schnitzer led the charge, spraying blaster fire as they advanced. Their blaster bolts blended perfectly with the dark red light that drowned the entire ship. There was nothing. A thick, coarse coating of dust covered everything. The undisturbed dust became a dense haze around their legs as they stepped forward.

"You can stop shooting, Orvar" said Mary, "There's no one here."

"Awww..." said Orvar disappointedly, "Orvar was hoping for more excitement."

"The ship looks abandoned" said Schnitzer.

"Impossible" said Hyakume, "If it were abandoned who hacked our systems?"

"I've got a couple guesses" Mary eyed Cypher.

"I can assure you of two things. I did nothing to the Bentenmaru, and this ship is not abandoned" said Cypher gliding to the front, "Just silent as the night. Come now, we must move quickly unless you want your ship to join this grave yard."

Kane pulled Cypher back, "Where do you think you're going?"

"To the bridge. That's the only place where I can stop Geist."

"Then that's where we go" said Marika, "But you're staying right where we can see you."

"And where I can put a bullet in your back" said Hans.

Cypher sighed, "So be it."

"Keep your mouth shut until we need it."

The ship was an empty shell. Not a single sound resonated through the halls. Consoles flickered and pulsed without as much as a beep. There was only the light thumps and pat of their feet. The dim crimson light grew darker and darker as they advanced to the bridge. Soon the pitch black swallowed them. Hands pressed against the wall, wiping away the dense dust as they walked.

PSHHHHH-KKKK!

The door behind them slammed shut. Hyakume and Tina tried to slice open the door, but it wouldn't give. The brute strength of Schnitzer and Orvar couldn't make it budge. The only option now, was to continue forward.

_CREEEEKKK! CREEEKKK! CREEEKKK!_

Mary spun round, "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"Didn't you hear it?"

"Nope."

_CREEEEKKK! CREEEEKKK! CREEEEKKK!_

Mary jumped, "Something just moved passed my leg."

"You're imagining things" said Schnitzer.

A long, smooth, slender shape grazed Marika's leg. Thousands of goose bumps pricked over her skin, "No, I felt it too. Something is here."

_CREEEEKKK! CREEEEKKK! CREEEEKKK!_

"Ahh!" screamed Hans.

_CREEEEKKK! CREEEEKKK! CREEEEKKK!_

"Jesus!" screamed Kane.

_CREEEEKKK! CREEEEKKK! CREEEEKKK!_

"Just what is going on?" asked Schnitzer.

The being snaked and snared around their legs. Each of them jumped and yelped as it touched their legs. They bumbled and shuffled to try and avoid the invisible foe.

_Click-click!_

_Ka-thoom!_

A spray of red bolts scattered from a barrel. On instinct everyone dove for the floor. The bolts crashed into the ground, some mere inches from limbs. Metal cracked and burst, harmlessly landing on their clothes. Cypher laughed, most amused at what had transpired.

"Congratulations. You've killed the cleaning robot. Well done, surely we are saved from the ghosts of Geist."

"Wait you saw that?" asked Marika.

"These cybernetic eyes are not just for show."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I was told to keep my mouth shut until it was needed" Cypher said coyly, "I must admit, it was quite entertaining to see you frightened by nothing."

Cypher chuckled as he continued to walk through the darkness. They seemed to walk for ages. The darkness was disorienting. There was no way to tell which way they were going, and trusting Cypher was something Hans and Mary were very reluctant to agree to.

"Kato" whispered a voice hoarsely.

Marika paused for a moment, _Probably just the machines._

"Kato… Kato… Kato…"

"Any of you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Kane.

"She's starting to lose it" said Mary, "And I don't blame here. We've been wandering around for ages."

"Kato. Kato. Kato."

"There it is again" said Marika, "You have to have heard it now."

BBBBBBBBBBZZZZZZ!

"I definitely heard that" said Hyakume.

"Cypher, what do you cyber eyes see?" asked Kane.

"Oh, now I can tell you what the hell is going on" he said, "Anyway, I don't see anything out of the ordinary."

BBBBBZZZZZZZ!

"Kato. Kato. Kato" the voice sounded robotic.

"There it is!" Hyakume pointed down the hall.

"Where?"

BBBBBZZZZZZ!

"Right there!"

BBBBBBZZZZZZ!

Everyone's weapons discharged in panic, hurling bolts in every direction. Sparks burst like small stars with each impact. Curses and profanity drowned the voice of calm. The buzzing grew louder and louder, whirring around the group.

"Gotcha!"

"That's me you asshole!"

"Sorry. God damn it! Watch your fire!"

"My bad! God damn it, Hans!"

"How did you know it was me? Ahh!"

"Call it a hunch. Little bugger!"

"Watch it!"

"I believe it would be wise for everyone to calm down and –"

"SHUT UP, CYPHER!"

"You are Orvar's!"

A scattered blast impacted with a thunderous clap. Metal crashed to the floor and a white-blue light flashed in a brilliant, but small, explosion.

"Okay, what was that?"

Cypher shuffled through the crowd to where the object fell, "It's a droid, a flying one at that."

"Combat droid?" asked Schnitzer.

"No, this one had a different purpose. It looks like a medical droid of some sort."

"Can you find out what it was after?" asked Kane.

"I could, if the oaf didn't blast it."

"Orvar does not like your tone" he said pumping his gun.

"It was after me" said Marika, "Something was calling my name in the darkness."

"Wonder why."

"Don't care. Let's find that damn map piece, and get the hell out of here" said Hans, "I need a smoke."

Han's lighter sparked and made a small flame. A slender cigarette emerged from his jacket pocket. Smoke wafted from the tip and rose into the air.

"Nothing like a good old fashioned cigarette" Hans brought the cigarette to his lips only to crush it against his mask, "Aww… What?"

"You had a lighter?" said Marika angrily astonished, "Why did you let us wander around in the darkness?"

"I don't call him 'Fumbles' for nothing" said Mary smugly.

Hans reignited the lighter. The small flame gave only enough light to reflect off their masks. The flame was lowered beside the wreck. Circuits and wires shimmered in the hot light. The entire drone was no larger than a dinner plate and as thick as a large textbook. The drone hovered by using two small anti-gravity plates. Two missile shaped objects lay broken beside the wreck. One had a long needle protruding from its tip. The other had a small dish and antenna.

"Strange" said Schnitzer.

"What? The medical drone?" asked Kane.

"No. The fact it sent one. Why not combat drones?"

"Maybe it wanted to make sure we were all healthy specimens" said Hyakume, "Remember that cat-monkey flu or whatever it was that got us locked up for weeks?"

"Orvar isn't worried. If it wanted to fight seriously, it would have already."

_CLICK-CLICK-TICK-TICK! CLICK-CLICK-TICK-TICK! _

"What was that?"

"You had to jinx it didn't you, you damn oaf."

"You say it is jinx," Orvar smiled in the fire light, "Orvar calls it damn good luck."

_CLICK-CLICK-TICK-TICK! CLICK-CLICK-TICK-TICK! _

"I bet they're just small fry, like the two drones we'd encountered so far" said Schnitzer.

_CLICK-CLICK-TICK-TICK! CLICK-CLICK-TICK-TICK! _

"They don't sound like small fry" said Hyakume.

Five crimson, horizontal, beams hovered in front of them, roughly at the same height as Schnitzer's horns. Even in the darkness, Marika could scantly make out their forms. The shadows had a long slender neck that rose from a broad human like body. A pair of crab like arms extended from the shoulders and started to glow green with increasing intensity. The entire body was supported by four insect-like legs.

"Run or shoot?" asked Mary frightened, "Run or shoot?"

"Both!" shouted Marika.

Both sides fired a hurricane of bolts and bullets down the hall. The small flame was extinguished but it didn't matter. The brilliant flashes from the laser bolts served to light the path.

"Left!" shouted Hans.

A pair of combat droids blocked the way. A bolt impacted one of the chests forcing one to stumble briefly. The party retreated down the other hall, the new pair of droids giving lumbering chase.

"God damn it! They're straight ahead" said Kane shooting at another group.

"Take the right" ordered Marika.

The hall was clear and they proceeded through the labyrinth. Bolts sparked all around them. Some burned through Marika's theatrical cape or grazed Hans' shirt. The both of them barked orders to make turns or go straight. But time and time again they were forced to retreat down another hall when faced by combat droids.

"Damn these droids are terrible shots" said Mary as a bolt flew by her hip.

"You're right" said Marika, "Something fishy is going on."

"Like what?"

"I think they're trying to herd us somewhere" said Marika firing a couple shots.

"Where?"

"Here" said Cypher.

The group found itself in a large barren antechamber. A massive door, ten feet wide and made of thick titanium alloy blocked their path. Without a place to run, they formed a simple half circle and poured fire back at the droids. The mechanical soldiers froze just before entering the antechamber. The firing stopped but their weapons kept glowing.

"They've stopped" said Orvar.

"No kidding" said Kane, "But why?"

As if on cue, the large door opened creating a large dust cloud as it went. The door shrieked as its mechanisms struggled against nearly a century of neglect. A faint glow of low colours penetrated the haze. When the dust had settled they could clearly see the spacious bridge. A large spherical computer was in the center of the room, what little power was used made a scale model of the solar system, the graveyard of ships, the planets and asteroids, the Bentenmaru, all of it. Five stations, composed of a pair of chairs and an elliptical table, surrounded the central computer. Holograms flickered from the tables, the images faintly resembled ships. From the distance, neither Marika nor anyone else could recognize them. Ten large cylindrical, pod-like, installations protruded from the walls and were taller than a man. A thick, undisturbed layer of filth covered everything.

"I'm not stepping in" said Hans.

"Then I gladly will" said Cypher.

Hyakume grabbed him, "You're not going anywhere."

The droids began to advance, weapons glowing hot. The pirates stood their ground, wary about what waits for them on the bridge and the obvious trap that it was. The droids began to advance methodically. The pirates refused to budge. The droids opened fire at their feet, forcing them back one step at a time.

KA-TUMP!

The door slammed shut when the last step came through. The lights came on and blinded them. A few shots rang out as their eyes adjusted.

"Cease fire" said a monotone female voice.

The sound of escaping air filled the room. Everyone stopped firing, confused as to what was going on.

Hyakume access the nearest console, "The room is filling with hydrogen. Don't ask me how, I don't know. But if we fire another shot…"

"We all go boom" Marika looked up, "What do you want?"

A medical drone dropped from above.

"Kato, identify."

"I'm Marika Kato."

The drone came to within inches of her face. The drone's camera snapped a quick picture. It little robot flew back and began a long, comprehensive scan. A green net or light covered every inch of her.

"Analysing" said the woman's voice, "Genetic markers identified, over 90% correlation. Analysing. Extrapolating possible descendant appearances of Bunzaemon Kato with common features of Tau Ceti inhabitants. Extrapolation complete. Analysing data to generate conclusion. Conclusion: Pirate claiming to be Marika Kato is likely to be descendant of Bunzaemon Kato. Initiating communication protocols."

Holographic projectors from every corner of the room focused on the centre. Scarlet Trugbild materialized before them. She was dressed in a long black over coat over a simple linen shirt. A knee length, pleated, black skirt matched the knee high black boots, complete with an assortment of buckles and straps. A long, two handed broadsword was slung over her shoulder. A plasmatic blunderbuss rested on her lower back.

"Interesting" said Cypher.

"This is the last known appearance of Scarlet Trugbild" Her gaze fixed on Marika, "Marika Kato, claiming to be of the Bentenmaru, why have you brought intruders to Geist?"

"They are part of my crew."

Hans wanted to object but Mary's glare was enough to keep him quiet.

"You are after Silent Night" said Scarlet, "Accessing Bentenmaru systems. Five of seven captains have granted consent by providing pieces to the location."

"So you'll give us your piece?" asked Marika hopefully.

"Negative" she replied coldly, "Silent Night must not be recovered. Applications of its systems resulted in heavy casualties for this ship and allied forces."

Cypher started to wander around the bridge examining each of the many stations, but careful not to touch anything. The many invisible eyes of Scarlet surely saw everything.

_Why are the captains so opposed to finding Silent Night? Why does Serenity want it destroyed? Might as well ask while the opportunity is here._

"What systems? What did Silent Night do?"

"Accessing logs dating back one century. Display Silent Night, cut away and enhance modules."

"Who cares about why" Hans whispered to Marika, "We're just after the treasure within. We can leave the ship and destroy the map if you want. No harm no foul after that."

"I care about why" she replied, "We've been going after this without the foggiest idea of what we're facing. Now we can finally get some clear anwers."

Mary, Hyakume, and Orvar all started to feel restless being trapped in a barren ship. Cypher's nonchalant wandering was contagious. All of them started to walk about purposelessly, disturbing the dust but not touching anything in a threatening manner.

"Silent Night, Imperial serial number 7723VS230. Letter of Marque status: revoked on grounds of treason. Named rogue pirate and lay siege to the planet of Serenity alone" said Scarlet, "Analysis at the time indicated the use of a hypothesised new energy based weapon. Analysis after conflict confirmed hypothesis."

"She might as well talk in riddles" said Kane.

"It's more than we've had in a while."

"Silent Night energy weapon unconventional" continued Scarlet apparently oblivious to what was happening around her, "Logs indicated the use of thalaron as a primary weapon. During battle, All crew were lost."


	16. Chapter 15

"Thalaron? What's thalaron?" asked Marika.

Mary started to wipe away the dust from one of the pods. A holographic massive cannon appeared in front of Scarlet. She constructed a large power generator and connected all the wires. The hologram turned a sickly green and fired a long beam at a holographic Geist. The beam phased through the shields as though it were only an illusion. The Geist's hull was undamaged but the halls were slowly turning crimson.

"Silent Night is equipped with thalaron cannons that created beams of concentrated radiation. This radiation is absolutely lethal, capable of killing within thirty seconds," explained Scarlet, "No defense is known. If aimed at a surface such as a planet, entire cities could be annihilated. Addendum: see Serenity no entry zone."

"Something doesn't add up" said Marika, "Radiation poisoning takes hours to kill. How can a weapon like that kill in seconds?"

"Holy mother of God!" screamed Mary.

Half a smiling skull stared into Mary's eyes, buried in ashen dust and dirt. The pods burst open dropping cadavers on the ground. Cords ripped from their skulls, spewing sparks before dying to a subtle glow. Scarlet's holographic image immediately changed into a clothed skeleton, its jaw unhinged and its bones slowly turning to dust.

"Image of Scarlet Turlbig updated."

"What the hell" said a petrified Mary.

"Thalaron radiation is capable of disintegrating chemical bonds in living cells" the hologram demonstrated, "The result is the creation of an ash like substance and a partial disintegration of bone. As you can clearly see."

"So all this dust is…"

"Was a member of my crew."

"Whoop de do" said Hans sarcastically, "I'll bet that the ship is not even functional. Let's just grab the piece and go. This thing is jamming long range comms right? Just blow the whistle and let's see what happens."

"Long range communications are jammed" confirmed Scarlet, "Addendum: subspace communications will not be inhibited by jamming procedures."

"I think you're lying" said Hans.

"I want to know more about Silent Night" Marika demanded.

Scarlet's hologram suddenly fixed her eyes on Marika, "Do not go after Silent Night. I will not allow it."

"Wait, I?" noticed Marika, "You're just a representation of Scarlet."

"No, I am Scarlet. And you have overstayed your welcome."

"But how? You said everyone was lost."

"Silent Night was not the only ship with experimental systems" said Cypher examining data, "Well, this looks interesting."

"What the hell are you doing?" said Kane levelling his weapon.

The metal doors flew open and the droids started to march forward. Air rushed out of the room. The mechanical platoon marched into the room, weapons primed and targeted.

"They will escort you from my ship," said Scarlet, "Do not - AHHHHHH!"

Scarlet was thrown into a horrific fit of screams and terror. Her holographic figure flickered and flared. The blue figure turned red as she writhed and squirmed under an unseen assault.

"Intruder in the systems! Counter measures! Counter measures!" she wailed, "I will not let you seize my ship."

"We shall see" said Cypher with a devil's grin.

Marika's prisoner had nestled himself into one of the many pods. Wires and chords plugged into many of his cybernetic enhancements creating a web of electricity. Cypher's eyes darted back and forth like he was seeing rows upon rows of code. Scarlet regained her composure and began to speak in coded tongue.

"Defense systems, purge the ship" ordered Scarlet.

The droids immediately began firing. The crew dove for cover and started to return the favor. Blaster bolts struck every corner of the room, miraculously missing Cypher's pod and simply phasing through Scarlet's image. Marika leveled her little gun and fired a wrathful blast. The bolt crashed into the chest of a droid creating a large explosion. Red hot shrapnel struck everything around it. The harsh hits were ignored by the freshly scorched automatons. Robotic limbs were cut off by blasts, cybernetic heads blown off, and weapons rendered useless, but the droids kept fighting. More and more droids marched down the hall, like the tide. And they wouldn't let them escape.

"Let us see what I can do, no?" said Cypher.

Bright flashes and sounds of fire echoed down the halls. Droid binary cant fell silent. In the bridge a pair of assault droids turned on their comrades. The two turncoats were quickly disabled by the overwhelming force of the other droids. Suddenly the fire stopped. The droids' visors flickered and flashed and switched between a myriad of colours.

"I will not let you seize this ship!" proclaimed Scarlet bursting with blinding light.

Cypher yelped as volts of power were forced through his body. His muscles clenched as he withstood the assault.

"Let's see how you like it."

Scarlet screamed as her left arm disintegrated, "Unconceivable. Raising additional firewalls, releasing malware."

"Arg! Processing viral removal. Hacking through firewalls" said Cypher, his voice becoming more mechanical with every word, "Encoding all commands, hijacking drone systems."

"Countering. Engaging deciphering protocols, isolating systems and deconstructing network" commanded Scarlet, "Isolating intruder. "Bringing weapons online. Targeting the Bentenmaru, firing."

"Not so fast" countered Cypher, "Hardening pathway connections. Control over minor systems complete, shutting down non-essential power."

As the two cyborgs battled on the unseen battlefield, the rest of the crew as fending off the unending assault.

"Get that door closed!" ordered Marika.

Hyakume jumped out of cover and ran to connect his console to the door. Cypher monotonically announced he had isolated the door subsystems.

"Covering fire" shouted Schnitzer.

A furious flurry of bolts flew down the corridors like a torrential wave. The droids didn't care and continued to advance. When one fell, the ones behind would think nothing of it and step over the scrap metal.

"Son of a –" profaned Mary when a bolt cut through her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" asked Marika peeking from cover.

"I'm good! I'm good!" said Mary, "Stay down. Damn Hyakume, how long does it take to put a door down?"

"A long time when the system is fighting against you" he clattered away on the keys, "Got it!"

The door slammed shut, crushing the couple bots beneath. In an instant the door rose again.

"Never mind" said Hyakume defeated.

"Emergency protocols engaged" Scarlet spewed out a series of codes, "All doors open. Vent them into space."

A massive gust of wind tore through the ship carrying everything with it. Scrap metal became lethal shrapnel as it ricocheted. Guns were stripped from their hands, leaving them defenseless. Schnitzer dared to step out and grab Hyakume before he could be whisked away. The massive cyborg planted into the ground and strained against the hurricane, but slowly, inch by inch, he was losing ground. Orvar had a death grip on a nearby power cord, electricity sparking from the frayed ends. Hans pressed Mary between him and a pod, protecting her as best he could.

Marika crouched beneath the consoles. The wind swept beneath her feet throwing her into the air. Kane reached out. Their fingertips touched.

Marika screamed as she flew through the air. In a few short minutes she would be helplessly floating in the endless void with no way to call for help. In space, no one can hear you scream.

"GAH!" grunted Marika as she slammed hard into cold metal and crashed to the ground.

"The doors are under my control" said Cypher, "Surrender Scarlet, you can't beat me."

"Initiate self-destruct protocols. One minute time limit. Begin immediately. Recognize my codes."

The holograms turned into a storm of numbers and letters. A third, unidentified but mechanical voice joined Cypher's and Scarlet's.

"Codes acknowledged and accepted. Self-destruct sequence started."

"Oh hell," said Hans, "We're caught between a rock and a hard place now."

"Like we weren't before" said Kane.

"Hyakume, get the doors back open" ordered Marika, "Abandon ship!"

"I have you" smirked Cypher, "End processes. Execute."

Scarlet screamed like a banshee as her ethereal form turned into fading code. The entire ship shook as its captain disappeared into the seas of cyberspace. Doors slammed open and close. Plasma and laser fire could be heard beyond the door before being swallowed by silence. The consoles flared, and cords and conduits exploded into flames and arcing power.

"The ship is now under my control" said Cypher, "Glad you brought me now?"

"Shut up" said Hans.

"What happened to Scarlet?" asked Marika.

A small memory chip slipped out of an adjacent pod.

"She's right there" said Cypher, "Trapped within those little circuits for all eternity. I gift it to you as a souvenir."

"What?"

"Weren't you paying attention my dear?" asked Cypher, "Scarlet uploaded her mind into the ship itself through the use of these pods before succumbing to the thalaron attack. I must say I wonder why this technology was abandoned. I can only imagine the possibilities. I can see everything the ship does. Every sensor reading interpreted into the five senses. Amazing. Then to be able to upload the mind itself into the computer cores; immortality in digital form."

"So, have you found the map or not?" asked Hans impatiently.

"Of course I have. But you know what we need to complete the process."

Marika blew the whistle's ghostly tune. A new star system appeared where Scarlet once stood. Three violet stars rotated around each other throwing flares into the black velvet backdrop. What planets once existed had been torn apart by the massive gravitational pull between the stars creating an asteroid belt of molten rocks and hot gasses. The warp trail of Silent Night weaved through the stars before disappearing into the holographic static.

"The numbers are: 23051701."

"Hey smart guy" said Mary, "Any idea what those numbers are?"

"No, she deleted the files relating to the numbers. It's too corrupt to recover it. We'll just have to solve it later."

"We got what we came for," said Kane, "I think it's time we depart."

"Agreed" said Hans, "So, you coming with us or staying in cyberspace?"

"Of course I'm coming" said Cypher, "We had a deal."

"Speaking of deals" said Marika, "You still need to keep up your end of the bargain."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Contact everyone you spoke to and set the records straight" she said sternly, "The Bentenmaru is still a legal Letter of Marque pirate. Simple enough to say?"

"Of course. Disabling long range communications jamming" said Cypher.

The flood of distressed voices screamed through the speakers, then silence.

"Disabling speakers. Better. This is Cypher, the source of all your information. Listen closely. The Bentenmaru and Das Boot are no longer considered enemies of the state. All bounties are redacted. Though if you wish, you may currently find them –"

"Hold it!" said Schnitzer and Orvar pointing their guns.

"I jest" smirked Cypher as the circuits beeped and booped and flashed, "All is done. Though whether they will listen is another matter. But my end has been fulfilled."

The doors opened safely.

"Now let us depart unto Silent Night."

The lights established themselves. Battered and blasted droids lined the path. The few that remained active passively walked down the halls with weapons powered down.

"Tina open the door, we're ready to go" said Marika.

"Okay."

The first door to the airlock opened. The crew walked in, tired from the ordeal. Cypher paused for a moment and looked back at the ghost ship. He muttered a few words akin to a goodbye. The door slammed shut.

"What is the meaning of this!" Cypher demanded.

"Hans, what are you doing?" demanded Marika.

Hans ignored her and pressed a button on the intercom, "Tina, let's go. The job's done."

Air rushed out of the air lock and a heavy, dull thud slammed against the door. Marika could only imagine the silent screams of Cypher as he drifted in the empty void.

"Launch the torpedo to be safe" ordered Hans.

Das Boot spun around and loosed its deadly weapon. The torpedo pierced through the tough armour and exploded deep inside the ship. Geist ruptured and cracked in half as explosions rippled through the ship. One of the Original Seven had been lost forever, joining the scrap and twisted metal of its graveyard.

"What the hell!?" Marika protested.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you trusted him completely" said Hans harshly.

_I can't. But I can't trust you either._

"Exactly as I thought. He's fulfilled his end of the bargain, but Cypher was a snake and would stab us in the back when he sees the opportunity. We're better off without him."

"I hate to say it, but I agree" said Kane.

"And sinking Geist?" interrogated Marika.

"We can't salvage the ship, and getting rid of a map piece almost ensures that we will be the only ones finding Geist. And if our digital captain in that chip of yours is to be believed, better that we find it than someone else."

_He's making sense, but something isn't right._

"What's done is done" said Schnitzer, "Let us proceed."

Das Boot cautiously flew out of the debris field. The Bentenmaru approached the little ship, bearing the scars of a few well scored hits. Before the ships could dock with each other, several new voices joined the storm of cries of desperation.

"This is the Stellar Military vessel X404 responding to your distress call…"

"This is the _Trawler_, we are here to assist."

"Pinkerton militia fleet reporting to assist."

An armada of ships jumped into the system ready to provide assistance to the multitude of ghost ships. Scans beamed to every corner of the system, scattering off every hull and scrap. To their horror, they had arrived too late. Only the Bentenmaru and Das Boot were living in the system.

"That's Das Boot!" declared the Pinkerton lead vessel through the horde of voices, "All ships focus fire. Take them alive."

"I thought Cypher took the bounties off of us" said Kane.

_He did. This is something else._

"Das Boot, stand down and prepare to be boarded" said the Stellar Military fleet, "You are under arrest."

"Stay out of this Stellar Military. This is Pinkerton business."

"Mary!" shouted Hans as he bolted to the cockpit.

"On it!" she replied, "Better hang on to something folks."

The armada closed in on the little ship, ignoring the Bentenmaru as it went. Marika's ship maneuvered into range, but refused to provoke the fleet. Das Boot put its jammers to full power and sped off into the debris field once more. The armada slowed to a crawl as its sensors were rendered useless. They were flying blind in the seas of space. Under Hans's orders, Tina dropped the jamming exposing them to a torrent of fire. Mary quickly input a random set of coordinates and sent them to the Bentenmaru before slipping Das Boot into hyperspace.

"Where are we?" asked Marika, "Where's my ship?"

"Betenmaru is here. As for where we are, give it a second, the navicomputer is still calculating" Hans struck the machine, "There we go. We're… we're… in the middle of nowhere."

"What do you mean 'nowhere'?" asked Kane.

"Take a look outside the window, handsome" said Mary, "We're nowhere."

Das Boot was surrounded by pitch black darkness. There were no stars, no planets, no asteroids, not even a lonely strand of space dust in the area. The distant twinkle of stars was nothing more than a dim ember. Only the lights of the Bentenmaru shined brightly against the silky invisible waves of space.

"How long until the navicomputer calculates our position?" asked Marika.

"Without any stars or astral bodies nearby it may take a few minutes."

"How long is a few minutes?"

"A few minutes" Mary with a snarky tone, "Honestly, I couldn't tell you if I wanted too."

"A few minutes here, a few minutes there, doesn't really matter," said Hans, "What do you say we do the usual and figure out our next step on the good ol' Bentenmaru?"

_It's like he's a whole different person._

"Only one piece to go" smiled Kane.

"And a treasure beyond our wildest dreams waits" said Marika.

"And it will be doubled if that old man is to be believed" said Hans almost beneath his breath.

The six systems floated without rhyme or reason in the centre of the room. The warp trail snaked through the stars as Marika tried to connect all the pieces together.

"I got nothing" she said.

"There's got to be something" said Mary, "Put them back in their present positions."

"Here. Nothing, the paths don't connect" said Marika, "And there they are a hundred years ago. Without the last piece there's no way to figure out where we're supposed to go."

"And there's the issue of the numbers too" said Misa from the corner.

"Anyone got any idea?" asked Mary.

"I don't see it."

"Me neither."

The ponderous thoughts were interrupted by an incessant, rapid beeping. The console where the holograms emanated blinked with a red light.

"Hello?" said Marika.

"Marika!" said a very enthusiastic young voice.

The swirl of planets and stars disappeared into the console and was replaced by the kind face of a young girl. She had long blonde hair that was twisted into many elegant braided tails that originated from a pair of yarn-ball like buns, beneath a pair of decorative pink roses. Silver eyes shimmered beneath her bangs. The young girl was dressed in a flamingo blazer with a sky blue bow on the front.

"Hey, it's the little princess" said Mary.

"Hello Ms. Mary" said Gruier with her pleasant smile, "Oh good. It looks like everyone I wished to talk to is here."

_Well at least she didn't stow away this time._

"Did you get my invitation?" asked Gruier.

"Invitation?"

"Oh well, I guess not" Gruier sighed, "Anyway, the Royal Family has a small job for you if you'd like it."

"We'll take it!" said Hans immediately.

"The Royal Family has a job for pirates?" asked Marika unsure.

"Sort of, I am actually inviting you to the annual Grand Ball on the Serene Lusitania in my home system" explained Gruier, "But I had a marvelous idea."

"I think I know where you're going."

"I'd like the Bentenmaru and Das Boot to do a little piracy show for us" offered Gruier, "We will certainly pay your usual rate, plus some bonuses for being a close friend of mine."

"How large are the bonuses?" asked Hans.

"Don't worry about it Guier," said Marika, "We'll do this one for free."

Mary and Hans threw their hands up in disbelief.

"Oh, no" said Gruier politely, "I can't ask you to do that."

"I insist" said Marika, "So, when's the grand ball?"

"It will be one week from today," smiled Gruier, "I'm sending you the details now."

The console blipped.

Marika flipped through the digital pages, "So what's the occasion?"

"Something boring. The Royal Family is celebrating the successful integration of the kingdom into the Galactic Empire with several very important delegates from Empire. The Royal Historical Society of Serenity is also scheduled to unveil something very exciting… or so I've been told. See? Boring stuff."

"Got them" said Hyakume.

"Great! We'll see you in a week, Gruier."

"I look forward to it with great anticipation."

The two exchanged courtly bows before signing off the communications.

The Serenity system was as beautiful as it ever was. The sisterly planets danced around their benevolent sun. Far above the clouds of Serenity, basking in the beauty, was a small military fleet numbering no more than seven ships. Five Corbak class escort vessels accompanied two Talbot-class battleships. In the centre of the military protection was a massive vessel that bore the royal crest.

The ship was longer than the battleships and shaped like an archaic aeroplane from a bygone age. It's sleek white and blue paint mostly covered up the thick cast metal plates of the hull. The hull was smoothed and rounded, resembling a killer whale. At the rear of the ship were four blinding blue titan engines, while all along the wings were smaller deep, sea green engines for various purposes. White lights lined the edge of the ship and if one looked very closely, they could faintly make out the hundreds of crew tending to their stations.

"That's a pretty intimidating fleet" said Kane.

"What in the world have you gotten us into" said Hans over the comms.

"We've faced worse" said Misa.

"You never complained about this kind of work before," Marika smirked.

"We were getting paid those times."

"Don't worry, we're completely safe" said Marika, "And if you want payment, just think of the tips we'll get when this is all over. Let's get this started."

The pirate ships sped out of the shadow of the moons. Immediately the military fleet turned to engage them. The battle ships fortified the centre while the escort ships moved up, down, left, and right, to envelop the two ships.

"Electronic warfare engaged. And done" said Coorie, "They're really getting sloppy now a days."

A pair of escorts and a single battle ship were dead in the water when Coorie finished her invisible assault. The remaining ships maneuvered to compensate for the sudden loss in cohesion.

"Target the escort ships" ordered Marika, "Keep us out of their firing range, Kane. Schnitzer, Hyakume, you know what to do."

"Roger."

The beam cannons turned to face their targets. Precise streams spewed forth from the cannons and splashed against the glistening shields. The corback-class vessels pushed their engines to full power and started to close the distance with the Bentenmaru. Kane turned the wheel and led the pirate ship away from the assailants. The battleship bellowed a mighty roar and unleashed its own hell. Four of its cannons fired in sequence. All of the beams scattered about the Bentenmaru, glancing the shields at best.

"Those ships are closing" said Schnitzer, "I suggest you turn us around to engage."

"Give it a second" said Marika.

As the Bentenmaru continued to retreat a small silhouette started to take form in the engine flare. The escort vessels fired at the shadow in futility as every single shot was very wide. It was like their sensor readings were making the ship much larger than it actually was. The shadow blitzed away from the engine flare with astounding speed, closing the distance with its attackers within a few moments.

Before the Serenity fleet could react Das Boot began to assault the escorts with annoying, unremitting bug bites from its small quad laser cannons. The minor blasts bored through the armoured plates, melting the surrounding plasteel. Emergency bulkheads slammed shut as the hull breaches grew larger and larger. The panicked escorts swerved and spun to bring their forward facing guns to bear on the freighter. Das Boot scurried away.

"Hans" said Marika with a sigh, "Stop teasing them please. I'd like to get this job done quickly."

"Fine" whined Mary.

Three pairs of missiles soared from the ship. The warheads withstood the intense heat and smashed through the engines and exploded. Reactor fluid and fuel ignited brilliantly creating small nebulae trails as the ships drifted haplessly.

"We have received surrender messages from the corbacks" said Coorie, "Shall I send an offer to the lead ship?"

"Of course."

"And they say no."

"Of course they did" Marika pointed forward toward the stars, "Let's finish this."

The Bentenmaru spun around and surged toward its final opponent. Das Boot banked away from the massive cannons of the Talbot battleship. Serenity's last hope fired all its weapons. The Bentemaru responded in kind. The exchange of firepower was astounding. Beams and missiles cut through space crashing and bursting against the shields. The ships shook and rumbled and rattled as they barrelled toward each other. The shields shattered like glass, armour warped under scorching heat.

Das Boot returned to the battle screaming like a banshee as she assaulted the battleship's flank. Its final pair of missiles crashed into the engines tearing a large hole in the hull. The deadly torpedo was loaded into its tube.

"We're getting a message" said Coorie, "Don't launch, we surrender."

"Excellent."

"Das Boot's going on ahead, captain" Hyakuyme reported.

"Coorie, put me through to the Serene Lusitania" Marika cleared her throat, "This is Marika Kato of the Bentenmaru. Your fleet has been thoroughly defeated and your systems are now under our control! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Surrender and prepare to be boarded!"

The communications channel clicked off.

"And not a single stumble" said Misa, "They'll be disappointed."

"Only a bit."

The Bentenmaru expertly began to board the ship. Tens and tens of crew members armed with swords, guns, and grenades stormed down the halls, passing paralyzed crew members. They rendezvoused with all four members of Das Boot in front of a door.

"Everyone ready?" asked Marika.

Both crews nodded. Marika kicked open the door. Laser and blaster fire rang out and hit the lights creating a fine dust of glass, like small snowflakes in the winds of winter. The ball room was a grand affair with a pair of round staircases with ivory bannisters. Crystal chandeliers hovered around like stars. The ceiling was pristinely painted with vibrant and exuberant colours. The watercolours mixed with oil based paints to create stellar images of the Royal Family's prestigious history. Large stained glass windows lined the sides allowing the natural beauty of infinity to enter the almost as large ball room. Hans and Marika did the usual spiel as they confidently walked down the tall series of steps.

"So have all your valuables at hand," Hans brandished his pistol, "If you know what's good for you."

The applause and cheering was so boisterous it nearly drowned out the theatrics.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Lords and ladies" said the Court Marshal, "I present to you Captain Marika Kato of the Bentenmaru, and Hans… I can't read my own writing… of Das Boot, and their crews. Holders of a Letter of Marque Pirates and close friends of Gruier and Gunhilda Serenity of the Royal Family."

"Cheers!" said the crowd raising their glasses.

The regular excitement of looting and pilfering was replaced by a more sophisticated yet equally jubilant night of mingling and partying. While the crew of the Bentenmaru civilly engaged with the other guests, the members of Das Boot, in their crude fashion, made a beeline for the free booze and food. Their eyes were wide as a child's in a candy store as they sampled delicacies and fine wines from the system. Luckily the other guests thought it to be part of a very dedicated act and chuckled and laughed with them as they continued to stuff their face (and pockets).

"Hey you look familiar" said a gentleman in a large, audacious overcoat.

"Yeah? Do I look like someone famous?" asked Hans.

"Infamous, more like, sir."

"Oh really?" Hans' hands slowly moved to his hidden holster.

"Sir, you also look particularly interesting" interjected Marika trying to diffuse the situation, "May I ask who you might be?"

"Of course, my dear captain" he replied, "I am the commodore of the fleet that contracts here near Serenity. Commodore Jacob Tiberius Smalls the Third of the Pinkertons, a pleasure I am sure."

"Shit" said Hans under his breath.

"Well commodore, I'm sure you have many things to talk about, but Fumbles isn't really good company. Tends to drop things on people, and we wouldn't want your wonderful coat to get ruined."

"True, but I can't shake the feeling I have seen his face before."

"Perhaps in the news?" suggested Marika, "The Bentenmaru is quite famous and we're often featured."

"Y-y-yeah" stumbled Hans, "I'm usually in the background. The guy with the gun, goofy outfit, and that gung-ho expression."

Jacob thought for a moment recalling every instance of the news, "Ah, yes, I think you are right. Sorry for bothering you."

The two men departed amiably. Immediately after, Hans went back to his task of covertly legal looting. Marika giggled then proceeded to mingle once more.

"Captain Kato" said Yotof with a glass of champagne in his hand, "I hope you have given serious thought to what I said last time we spoke."

"Of course. Let's speak over there where less people can hear us."

_Especially Hans and the rest._

"I trust your search for Silent Night has ended and that the crew of Das Boot has now become part of your own personal fleet" said Yotof hopefully.

"No" said Marika, "We're still searching for Silent Night."

"Disappointing."

"But I know why you fear its revival," Marika became stern and hard, "My history is a little hazy, but I've heard of a place on the planet call the No Entry Zone, or at least something similar. If what I've heard was true, I promise that I'll destroy Silent Night so it won't happen again."

A small smile cracked on Yotof's face, "That is good to hear. I wish you the best of luck."

"Wait. I need to ask you a favour."

"For a friend of the princess, consider it done."

The jingle of glass silenced the guests. A short, bald man with audacious facial hair dressed in an archaic uniform stood at the head of the room.

He raised his glass and proudly proclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, lords and ladies, I pray that this beloved ball has exceeded all your expectations…"

"Who is he?" Marika asked Gruier.

"He's the head of the Royal Historical Society. I guess it's time for the big announcement."

"Why is he speaking like that? It's so old."

"He gets a little too much into his work. You'll get used to it."

"Now for the grand news thou hast been attentively waiting for" he cleared his throat, "Over one hundred years ago the Original Seven took up arms to defend the systems from the oppression of the Stellar Empire. While the conflict raged, Serenity served to assist the small federation by acting as a port in the storm. Today, only the Bentenmaru remains as the active member of the Original Seven and we hare duly honored to receive them as guests."

_I thought this was the big announcement, not another speech._

"Get on with it!" hollered Hans smoking.

A small chuckle came from the crowd.

"Ahem, well yes… In the year…"

"Get on with it!" shouted Mary drinking.

The crowd laughed even louder.

"Of course… Now the Serenity Royal family's lineage…"

Before Das Boot could say a word the entire crowd of nobles and aristocrats shouted, "Get on with it!"

The Head began to stumble over his words while his face turned bright red with embarrassment.

"Dear Lord of the Historical Society" began Gruier, "We surely appreciate your enthusiasm and dedication to your work, but our anxious excitement cannot be contained any further. Please honor us with your tremendous news."

"Of course, your highness. The Bentenmaru will no longer be the only Original Seven ship to sail the seas any more. For we have found the Poseidon's Wrath of the Original Seven!"

Murmurs and rumours snaked through the crowd at the great news. Glares shot about the pirates to each other. From Misa to Mary, Marika to Hans, they were all planning the next move.

"Your attention please" continued the Society Head, "And to add to the excitement, you are all standing within it! The pirate ship has been repurposed to serve as the grand vessel Serene Lusitania! A living museum honoring piracy in the golden age and wars of independence. Though we are now proud members of the indomitable Galactic Empire we honor the Original Seven. Glory to the Original Seven for their years of service preserve the rights of our systems."

The crowd raised their glasses in praise and once the honors were done, they immediately went to the Society Head to ask an endless number of questions. Hans made his way to Marika, weaving stealthily through the crowd of excited people.

"Let's get the final piece, here and now."


	17. Chapter 16

"We need a plan, and we need it quick" said Hans in a hushed tone.

"Coorie, Tina, what do you need to find the last map piece here?" asked Marika.

"Since this place is a living museum," said Coorie, "We can assume the most they've done to the computer systems is a restoration. So the map piece should be in the same place as it was 100 years ago."

"This means we can access it from the bridge, ideally" said Tina, "Other option is to harvest the data cores like we did back on the asteroid."

"Two options, two teams" said Marika, "Hans, Mary, Coorie, Kane and I will head to the bridge. Tina, Orvar, San-daime, and Schnitzer will head to engineering. Everyone else will be here on standby and to deflect any suspicion."

"Good, let's go" said Hans.

"Hold on there" said Kane, "We need to find a way to get into and out of the bridge and engineering. And how we can access the computers without interference. And no, we can't blast our way through."

Orvar was clearly disappointed.

"Come cheer up my lads 'tis to glory we steer…" sang a Serenity Captain.

"There's only a skeleton crew aboard, can we just sneak our way through?" asked Mary.

"Why doesn't Marika just pull a few special favours from her royal friend?" suggested Hans.

Marika shot a sharp look at Hans, "I will not."

"And I doubt that will work" said Misa, "There's only so much royal influence can do. And with this ship being an Original Seven military ship, I doubt they want people wandering about without authorization."

"Damn national security."

The room started to join in the singing, "Hearts of oak are our ships, hearts of oak are our men…"

"How about that guy" said San-daime pointing to the Society Head, "Can we use him?"

"If we can convince him to take us on a tour maybe" said Marika, "But that still leaves the people in the bridge and engineering."

"What is we stage a small accident to evacuate the ship" said Mary.

"How small?"

"I could fake an engine rupture" said Tina, "Like we do on Das Boot when we need to make a desperate escape."

"That's not exactly small" said Marika.

"But it will work" said Hans.

"How about a small fire, or depressurization?" suggested Kane.

"Our kingdom triumphant, our ships rule the seas. Our watchword is justice, our pass word is free" the song concluded, "So cheer up my lads and with heart let us sing. Our soldiers, our sailors, our statesmen, and Queen!"

"A well placed blaster shot could do it Hans," said Mary, "And I can do it covertly too."

"Fine."

"Okay, so how do we get the wind box to let us up there?" asked Marika.

Kane eyed Coorie, "Well…"

"I'm not doing it" Coorie flatly refused.

"You're no fun" said Mary as she sultrily walked toward the Society Head.

Mary played with her hair, batted her eyelashes, ran her fingers over the man's chest, and said a few provocative words. He smiled and turned bright red. Within a few moments he was walking toward the group with Mary hanging off his arm.

"Captain Kato, I never knew you had such a friendly crew" said the Society Head, "Forgive me for saying, but I had always known pirates to be such callous fellows concerned only with the money."

"That's half true" muttered Hans, "Oof! What was that for?"

"We are a very unique crew" said Marika, "Did you need something?"

"Your friend here has a very particular interest in history, particularly about pirates. Of course, that is only natural for someone of her position."

"Of her position?"

"Captain Kato, I am afraid I haven't made much of an impression on you," said Mary, "But I promise, even though I'm new, I will be a valuable member of your crew."

"Ah, yes of course. What does her interest have to do with that?"

"Well she approached me and wanted to learn more about how pirates behaved back during the golden age" he began to ramble, "She firmly believes that through knowledge of the past she can become a better pirate. And as we know knowledge begets power, so naturally I agreed. However, I stated to her that perhaps if she wanted to impress you, she should speak to you directly. But alas, she hoped to impress spontaneously rather than simply obeying your orders. But I contended that…"

The words turned into inaudible droning, flowing into one ear and cleanly out the other. Hans started to drink more and more as he continued to speak about completely redundant and useless details.

Finally he started to conclude, "Then we had a marvelous idea. As a group I would lead you through the ship and teach you everything about its illustrious and exciting history. Miss Mary would gain the knowledge she so desires, and you would become aware of her keen eagerness to be a productive member of your crew."

Before he could say another word Marika interjected, "Splendid, let us begin then."

"With great pleasure" he led them out of the grand ball room, lecturing as they went, "This ball room was originally the magazine for the ship, housing countless ordnance and other weapons of mass destruction…"

"This is going to be a very long walk" muttered Marika.

"Want a drink?" offered Hans.

"You know what, I'll take you up on that."

The group of pirates walked up and down the labyrinth of corridors and hallways, and the web of connected rooms. The Society Head rambled on and on about an assortment of topics in piracy, often becoming distracted and derailing at end. As they passed engineering, the two technical experts quietly slipped away with relieved sighs as their never-ending lecture had finally concluded.

_Lucky. I hope they can do it, though._

"And here is the bridge. Chaps, please allow us to pass, these fine folks have a very educational appointment to keep with yours truly."

The lazy ceremonial guard eyed the group and let them in without much of a hassle. Such is the life of a person making minimal wages at a dull job. The bridge was occupied with a skeleton crew, each person managing two stations. The bridge was a large room surrounding a massive galactic map. Large monitors and screens lined the walls providing information on every single activity on the ship. If a man sneezed, the command crew would know. The entire centre was enclosed by a clear dome.

"This is where it all happened" said the Society head beginning his hot aired lecture.

"Make a move quick" said Marika, "If I have to listen to this guy for another minute I'll go mad."

"I can't exactly draw my pistol without branding us insane terrorists" said Mary, "We need everyone's eyes on something else. This is supposed to be covert, remember?"

"I'm open to ideas" said Marika.

"Excuse me," said a crewman, "Would you happen to be Captain Kato of the Bentenmaru?"

"Yes, of course."

"Wow, I didn't think you'd take the time to visit us" he said practically drooling, "Please let me say on behalf of the entire crew that we are absolutely honored that you raided our ship."

"I think we found our distraction" said Coorie softly.

"Captain," said Kane, "How about we show these folks how real pirates handle their stations."

"We would be honored, but sir, would this be acceptable?"

"Think of it as a historical re-enactment" said Marika, "This was a pirate ship. What better way to learn than from real pirates."

"It won't be completely accurate," he pondered, "But those who are part of the culture would have a much clearer perspective. Yes! Let us begin a re-enactment. To your positions! Everyone, watch very closely."

Marika promenaded around the bridge examining each station. When she was done she took a commanding position at the galaxy map.

"Begin the simulation! Now the first thing pirates do before engaging in battle is scan the battlefield" she lectured, "Pirates never fight unless they can win or have no other choice. Coorie, you're up."

Coorie pointed various objects on the screen, "No, use a low frequency scan. They're harder to trace… Captain we have three ships, two corvettes and one destroyer."

"An easy fight then. Kane, take us into range."

"Aye, aye!"

Marika and her crew led the skeletons through a mock battle with every single eye fixed on their actions. While the crew was distracted by the act, Hans and Mary quietly slipped away to the furthest, darkest corner. Hans blocked the line of sight by leaning over Mary, pretending to access the consoles. The blaster crept out from a hidden holster. While blankly staring at the console Mary aimed the barrel. Hans bashed against the console as the bullet flew. The red bolt bored through the glass dome and air started to rush out of the small hole. Several other blasts slammed into the dome hidden by well-timed bashing. Within the minute the alarms started to sound warning of the sudden drop of oxygen.

"Evacuate the ship!" said the Society Head.

"Attention, attention" said the lead officer, "We are experiencing rapid decompression. Calmly proceed to the nearest station and acquire the respiratory devices. Emergency crews have been called and we will resolve this shortly. Thank you."

The bridge crew quickly distributed the emergency kits.

"Come now my infamous new friends" said the Society Head, "Our recreation and anthropological study will have to continue later."

"We're right behind you" said Hans.

They started to funnel out of the bridge, but as soon as the last member of the skeleton crew stepped out, Coorie sealed the doors. The main act had begun.

"What happened?" Marika acted.

"The door must've had a short" said Kane, "Can we get it open?"

"Not from this side" said Coorie.

"Hey! Crewmen!" shouted Mary, "Can you do anything from there?"

"N-no" one stammered, "The main circuiting was supposed to have been completely cut to keep the doors from sealing."

"There are more circuits than the main that control doors" said Coorie condescendingly under her breath, "Amateurs."

"Well, grab some engineers and get us out of here!" shouted Hans.

"R-right. We'll be right back. Hold on."

"I think they're gone" said Marika, "Okay, let's get this started. Contact engineering."

"Yo" said San-daime, "What do you need?"

"How are things looking down there?"

"Pretty good" said Tina, "I faked a reactor leak and everyone went running. We're searching for the core now."

"Great. We're alone up on the bridge so we'll try to hack the system from here" said Marika, "Coorie, if you please."

"Roger."

"Hey, if you find it let us know" said San-daime, "It'll help us find the core so we can have two copies."

"Sure thing" said Coorie, "Now everyone think. If you were to hide a very valuable map piece where would you put it?"

"The place where no one would look" said Kane the smart-ass.

Coorie did not exactly approve of the response.

"If it were me, I'd hide it in something that is regularly accessed and very boring" said Hans.

"Wouldn't that be counterproductive?" said Marika.

"I see where he's going" said Coorie, "It might seem counterintuitive, but a place that get a lot of traffic gets less and less scrutiny over time since it's virtually the same all the time. Also, all the traffic created fragments and mounds of junk data."

"I sense a catch" said Marika.

"There's always a catch" said Mary.

"The problem is there are hundreds, if not thousands of files that share these characteristics. It may take a while."

"We don't exactly have a while" said Marika, "Everyone take a console and start searching."

The two crews began pouring over files and files searching for something they have never seen before. Strings of numbers and letters crawled across screens like insects. As time passed, monotony began to set in. Monotony soon passed and turned into frustration. And frustration eventually hit its inevitable conclusion.

"God damn it! Where is it!?" Hans drew his pistol, "Give me the damn piece or I'll blast you!"

"Shouting at the screen won't help" said Coorie typing away.

"Yeah?! Well it makes me feel better!"

"But it's not helping" said Kane, "So sit back down and keep looking."

"There has to be a better way" said Mary, "Hey, what about the Boat Swain's Call?"

"What about it?" asked Marika.

"Well, it can unlock the files, so do you think it can call them up too?" suggested Mary.

"What about the subspace signal?"

"Won't matter if we don't get the piece. Besides we've got the Bentenmaru _and_ the Serenity Defense Fleet here. What's the worst that can happen?"

_Many things. But Hans is getting frustrated, and we know how he can get._

"Alright," Marika pressed the whistle between her lips and let it sing.

As soon as the notes left the strange item the computers and consoles began to act erratically. The screens flickered and flashed before dying into pitch blackness. Tina and San-daime were calling through the intercom until their voices suddenly stopped. The power cut and they were plunged into darkness, save for a twinkling starlight far above. Unlike the Geist, no new image appeared, no hologram took form. There was only the emptiness of the abyss around them.

"Well, that went better than I expected" said Kane.

"God damn it!" Hans yelled smashing his console, "We were so close. Now we're trapped in here!"

"Relax, it's not that bad" said Coorie, "The system is probably rebooting. Just give it a minute or two."

"Do you hear that?" asked Mary.

"What?"

The room froze to listen for a moment. The dull, white-noise buzz disappeared from mind as they focused on the extra ordinary. It was faint, high pitched and melodic.

"Well then, now this is something" said Hans with a smile.

_It's just like the first time on the Bentenmaru._

"Anyone recognize the song?" asked Marika.

The song wasn't piratical in nature, nor was it contemporary and modern. But the tune was strangely familiar giving them a sense of deja vu. There was no chorus or refrain, just a single verse repeating over and over and over again.

"They sang it recently," Mary started to stammer through the verse, "Come…something my lads, tis to glory were veer? To add something, something, year."

"That's it!" said Kane, "Now how did the rest of it go. What were we doing when they sang it?"

"Planning this heist" said Hans, "How many verses were there?"

"No idea."

"We'll go round and sing a verse" said Marika, "Maybe our memories will clear up as we hear it."

One by one they started to sing incomplete verses to the melody. With each stumble the next became more coherent, but the words were still wrong.

"Our kingdom triumphant, her ships rule the seas" sang Marika, "Her watchword is justice her password is free… damn, how did the last two lines go?"

"I don't think it matters, take a look" said Coorie.

The screens returned to life and the systems reactivated. A single line of text appeared on the screen beckoning the Boatswain's Call to sing to it again. Marika kindly obliged releasing another string of notes. An old face appeared on the screen. It had long blonde hair and icy blue eyes and yellow teeth. He was aged and wrinkled, almost cracked.

"I am Captain Dion Ithaca of Poseidon's Wrath."

"So, recording or not?" asked Mary.

"If you are watching this, then I have long passed from this world."

"That's a relief."

"I know not how you have discovered the Boatswain's Call nor how you were able to find this hidden piece of the map. I care not. But know this, what you seek holds treasure and wealth beyond our imagining, but there is a reason we have kept it hidden for ages. I will not tell you to ignore the prospects, but I beseech you. Take only what you desire and leave the memorial be. Let the ship drift aimlessly through the stars for eternity, as a forgotten reminder of our finest hour."

The face disappeared and the final piece appeared. A large, blinding orange quasar that spewed storms of yellow particles into the farthest reaches of space like a dragon's breath was swallowed by a thick nebula. The map piece was the largest of the group, extending millions of miles to show three neutron stars arranged in an equilateral triangle around the quasar. The infamous warp trail made its way through the formation and finally the numbers appeared: 08251688.

"Are you all alright?" asked an engineer as the door lifted.

"Yes, we're fine" said Marika, "How is everyone else? How is Gruier?"

"All is well" said Yotof, "Unfortunately, our little celebration must conclude for the evening. Quite a strange occurrence of events. Decompression on the bridge and a reactor leak occurring during a crowded party. It is as if they were carefully coordinated. Ah, probably just a coincidence."

"Yeah probably" Marika laughed nervously.

"Farewell, captain" said Yotof as he escorted them to the ships, "I wish you the best on your journeys and that your judgement should be clear."

"What did he mean by that?" asked Kane.

"Probably nothing" Marika tried to reassure him, "Let's get this last meeting underway. And let's find Silent Night."

The two crews assembled for, what they all thought would be, the final time. All seven systems floated in the room arranging and rearranging themselves as they saw fit. No matter the course the trails would not line up and reveal the hidden place.

"Nothing" said Hans, "How many combinations are we at now?"

"I've lost count" said Marika, "And I haven't the foggiest for the numbers."

"They aren't anything I recognize" said Coorie.

"If it's a red herring I'm going to be so pissed" said Mary, "Come on, there has to be something we're missing."

The two crews debated on end about how the map should be pieced together. Regardless of the arrangement it never worked. Luca stared closely at each system, looking past the obvious stellar bodies and orbital patterns.

Her eyes widened, "I can see it."

"What do you see now?" asked San-daime.

"The gravity wells are off ever so slightly" Luca pointed to a selection of astral bodies, "The orbits are off and have affected the warp trails."

"How do we fix it?" asked Mary.

"It must be the numbers" said Luca, "Gravitational corrections for the systems to put everything as it was."

"Clever bastards" said Marika, "They put one more trick to the map so only they could see it. Until Luca got her eyes on it that is. Great work. Let's get those corrections plotted."

Luca adjusted each of the celestial bodies, moving their physical forms as well as their invisible attributes. With each adjustment the warp trail moved. From great sweeping adjustments to minute ones, near invisible to the naked eye. Once the pieces had aligned the warp trail turned gold and found rest in a far off sector, either forgotten or unheard of.

The path finished in an empty sector prone to ion storms and solar flares. The sector was a stellar nursery, filled nebulae that held colours from across the spectrum. Small stars were borne within the dense clouds bursting with flames.

"Excellent," Hans smiled, "Plot a course immediately and –"

"Where are we going?"

"Gah! Gruier, how did you get on board?" asked Marika irate.

The little princess had abandoned her elegant, regal, party dress and instead donned the regular school uniform of Hakuou Academy. She smiled innocently as the pirates scowled at her constant insistence of stowing away to join in on their adventures. Very dangerous adventures.

"You used that little trick I taught you right?" said Mary with a sly devilish smile.

"Maybe" said Gruier innocently.

"That a girl."

"Gruier you really need to stop stowing away like this" Marika scolded, "And you, Mary. What's the little stow away secret you taught her?"

Hans came to the realization, "Oh, you taught her that trick. That's a good trick."

"Damn right it is. It worked on you old man."

Hans chuckled, "Well best to keep inviting her aboard, Marika. You'll never be able to find her from now on."

"Wait, you know this trick too? Tell me."

"Nah, I think you'll have more fun if it's kept between the three of us."

"Thank you, Mr. Hans, Ms. Mary" Gruier gave a courtly bow, "So where are we going?"

The hologram of systems were overtaken by a vision of Bunzaemon Kato.

"This is my final plea" said Bunzaemon.

"Don't care" said Hans, "We know everything and damn to the depths what you say."

"Quiet Hans," said Marika, "He may be dead, but that's still my family."

Hans rolled his eyes.

"Silent Night must not be sought. We, the Original Seven Captains, have suffered at the hands of this ship and we had sworn we would have been the last. The ship possesses a lethal and unstoppable weapon capable of ending countless lives. We ourselves, had lost the crew of the Geist to this weapon. Were it not the ingeniousness of her captain, the ship would have been lost and the remaining six ships would have perished as well. This Thalaron beam…"

"We know this already" said Mary.

The hologram continued to describe the horrors oblivious to their disinterest.

"However this thalaron weapon is not the key to its true power. Rather, it simply serves to augment it" the hologram began to flicker.

"What's going on?" asked Marika, "What's happening to the image?"

"The data is corrupted. It's too old."

Bunzaemon regained his form, "If this ship should fall into the wrong hands, it is not only the captain we should fear but those the captain serves. This technology can be easily replicated to create one hundred Silent Nights and - I implore you, cease this search and destroy the map as I wanted to ages ago. If you decide to pursue the ship, destroy it."

"So, what's the call?" asked Misa.

"Who cares" said Hans, "Let's grab that treasure and deal with the consequences later, eh?"

"Marika, if I may speak" said Gruier, "I don't know much about this Silent Night you're after, but if your ancestor believes it should be destroyed I think you should follow his advice. Something that dangerous could upset the Galactic Empire, and our history shows that they are not exactly the most benevolent force in the universe."

"They leave us well enough alone" said Hans, "If we were that big a problem, they would've done something by now."

"Us a problem?" asked Marika, "Why would the Empire have a problem with legal pirates?"

Proximity alarms began to blare. They quickly deactivated the map and sprinted toward the bridge. On the main screen a fleet of small ships created a cordon around the pair of pirates. The weapons were meagre, but Das Boot has proven time and again that the paltriest of laser fire can become lethal if it is underestimated and ignored.

"Who are they?" demanded Marika.

"This is the third Pinkerton reconnaissance flotilla for the Serenity sector."

"Well that answers that" said Hyakume, "But what in the world do they want?"

"Open fire, Schnitzer" suggested Hans aggressively, "Do it now!"

"No offense, but I don't take orders from you" he replied curtly, "Orders, captain?"

"Power shields, but keep weapons cold" said Marika, "Let's hear them out."

"They're probably looking for me" Gruier sighed, "Yotof, you really need to stop worrying. Of course, I thought the Serenity Royal Fleet would be the ones searching."

Hans and Mary glared at each other and nodded.

"Captain Kato, we have no quarrel with you. Our business is with Hans Schafspelz. He is under arrest for several petty crimes and most importantly for engaging in illegal piracy. Including attacking several vessels of Fairy Jane."

"That's preposterous" said Marika, "Those charges were falsified by the criminal Cypher!"

"The crimes pressed against the Bentenmaru were proven fraudulent. But upon our own investigation we have found the one named Hans guilty. In addition to a slew of petty crimes, there is no Hans Schafspelz licensed under the Letter of Marque."

"So you're saying he's a rogue pirate."

"Check for yourself."

The ship forwarded the entire database related to the Letter of Marque. The database scrolled across the screen listing every license number beside every captain's name and ship's name. Many of the entries were red, indicating that the captain had long passed away and his letter of marque had expired without an heir. Marika read every entry but Hans' name never appeared.

"As you can see, Hans is an illegal pirate. Please cooperate and give him to us."

"Hans –"

BANG!

Gruier shrieked. A blaster bolt crashed into a console creating a spray of sparks and flame. Before anyone could react Hans grabbed Guier and pressed his barrel against her head. Mary pointed her weapon at everyone on the bridge, finger itching on the trigger. Everyone on the bridge drew their weapons and pointed it on toward the puckish rogue pair.

Gruier struggled against the hard grip around her throat. She kicked and thrashed desperately trying to break free. In the fit she bit into Hans' hand. He swore and pulled the princess hard, almost throwing her across the room. He pushed the long barrel just under her eye. The weapon glared at her with a steel, stoic, unflinching gaze, silently threatening her.

"Hold on now, let's not do anything hasty" Marika tried to calm the situation, "Gruier, everything will be okay."

"I trust you, Marika."

"What's going on over there?" asked the Pinkertons, "We heard gunfire."

"Tell them" said Hans.

"Hans has taken Princess Gruier Serenity hostage."

"Damn him. I knew I recognized him during the ball."

"Alright listen and listen well" Hans ordered, "We're headed back to Das Boot and we're taking the little princess with us as insurance. Any funny business and she takes a one way trip to meet Davy Jones. Now, we're going after Silent Night. All of us, so plot that course."

"Why don't you just take Silent Night on your own?" asked Marika, "It looks like all the cards are in your hand."

"Because a deal is a deal" said Hans, "I said we'd get it together and together we will get it. That's that."

The rogue partners dragged Gruier down the halls toward Das Boot. Members of the crew dropped their tasks and reached for their weapons. Their captain quickly signaled them to stop and they put their weapons on the ground. The trio disappeared behind the airlock. Air rushed out as the ship disembarked. The sound cut through Marika as she recalled Mary's story and what Hans did to Cypher. If she didn't obey the brigand, would Gruier face the same fate?

"Recon fleet, move to engage –"

"No! Stand down" Marika ordered, "This is our fight."


	18. Chapter 17

The Pinkerton fleet powered down their weapons but continued to encircle the ships. The little freighter zoomed in front of the Bentenmaru, visible to the unassisted eye, but it only created a small shadow on the sensors. Das Boot's energy readings spiked then suddenly the entire ship disappeared from the sensors entirely. Its engines flared as if it was mockingly provoking the Bentenmaru to give chase. In an instant the ship of nefarious ne'er-do-wells disappeared.

"What are your orders, captain?" asked Kane.

"Set a course for Silent Night" Marika ordered, "Contact Yotof and inform him of the situation."

"What about the Pinkertons?" asked Misa.

"Pinkerton fleet" said Marika commandingly, "Return to standard operating procedures, we will contact you if we need you."

"Hold it, girlie –"

"I am Captain Marika Kato of the Bentenmaru. Address me accordingly."

"Captain Kato, we cannot oblige. That man is wanted and now possesses a hefty bounty and his actions directly assaulted Pinkerton forces. This is our matter –"

"Gruier Serenity is my dear friend!" shouted Marika, "Don't you dare tell me that this is your matter. Schnitzer power weapons, target the lead ship."

"You cannot be serious" protested their target.

"Stand down" she said sternly.

"You're bluffing."

"Care to try me?"

Marika glared out toward the small flotilla. Her steel, hard eyes pierced across the sea and stabbed through the thick armour of their ships. The Pinkerton ships powered down their systems and indicated their capitulation with a short message.

"Luca, Kane, take us to Silent Night" she ordered as she walked off the bridge.

"Aye, aye."

"Marika, are you alright?" asked Misa following a safe distance behind.

"Gruier is hostage, I was made a fool in front of my own crew, and the man we trusted betrayed us. What do you think? I should have been more suspicious."

"You were cautious, and that's all we could've done" said Misa, "If Gruier hadn't stowed away odds are this wouldn't have happened."

"Don't blame Gruier for this."

"I'm not" said Misa, "I'm just saying there are always circumstances beyond your control. The best you can do is prepare for them and hope that's enough. As for the here and now, we'll have to come up with a plan to deal with them once we reach Silent Night."

"I'm already one step ahead of you" said Marika harshly as she made her way to her quarters.

The Bentenmaru dropped out of hyperspace just beyond the storm of astral bodies. The neutron stars flashed rapidly like a strobe light while scorching hot particles exploded from the quasar's gaping mouth. The nebula flashed and thundered like a demonic storm of the coast. The ships sensors only read the immense amounts of radiation that emanated from the astral phenomena. Slowly the Bentenmaru lumbered closer to the quasar. A small object in the distance grew and grew until it was clear as crystal.

"Das Boot dead ahead" said Hyakume, "Playing dead by the looks of it."

"Well? What are you waiting for? Let's get going?" said Hans over the comms.

"Take the Bentenmaru into the storm" ordered Marika.

"Sorry captain, we can't do that" said San-daime, "All the interference, gravitational forces, and a whole mess of other problems will tear us apart. One of our shuttles should manage though."

"Prepare the shuttle then" said Marika, "Schnitzer, "Launch probes into the nebula. I want to know exactly what we're walking in to."

"Aye, aye."

"Excellent move" said Misa, "Those probes will allow us to keep tabs on you from outside the nebula."

Marika didn't respond. She gathered the small away team, made of Misa, Schnitzer, and Hyakume. The group donned their suits and entered the pressurized shuttle. Air rushed out of the hangar as the shuttle left its nest. Guns fixed on Marika's little vessel as it approached the outlaw freighter.

"Let's go" ordered Hans, and Das Boot led the way into the abyss.

The massive nebula swallowed the ships, making them disappear from view. The probes that led the way could only create shadows of the ships that were plagued with static and interference. Inside the stellar cloud the ships could barely make out each other. It was as if they were flying though a sandstorm of ethereal colours.

"Hans! Drop your damn jamming!" shouted Marika, "We can barely keep a visual on you and we need sensors to keep from colliding."

"She has a point, Hans" said Mary in the distance.

The sensors cleared up and Das Boot became partially clear. The screen filled with phenomena. Small stars were being born in the nursery creating swirling currents in the cloud. The quasar flooded the area with radiation. Gravity wells pulled in every direction creating rivers of calm in the storm. Small rocks and meteors hurdled aimlessly in the thick cloud. Larger asteroids lumbered threateningly, but did nothing more than hover in the vast contest of gravity wells. However, there was no sign of Silent Night.

"Hans, you got the map?"

"Yeah, I got it."

Marika enhanced and enhanced the holographic image, "Silent Night appears to have entered from the southern side of the nebula. So I think we would start our search there."

"If you were hiding a ship would you just leave it in the nebula?" asked Hans.

"No" said Marika quizzically.

"Then where?"

"Where it would be most dangerous" she replied, "Near the centre of the storm, at the quasar."

"Then that's where we're headed. Stay close."

A bright flash filled the compartment. Lightning cracked across the cloud, spiraling into a massive web that extended hundreds of kilometers. An asteroid was struck and it turned into nothing but speeding ash and vapor. The shuttle cried out in terror with its alarms and bathed its occupants with deep red light.

"Status report" ordered Marika.

"It was just an ion discharge" said Hyakume, "A pretty big one at that. Shield will recover in a moment or two. Enhancing sensors. Keep on your toes captain, I'll warn you when another discharge if about to happen and where from."

Another bolt thundered across the nebula. Its twisted flaring end scorched into Das Boot. Her shields shrieked as it shattered. The lightning strike sparked as it hit the hull creating a massive spray of smaller bolts with a tinge of red. Marika gasped.

"They're fine" said Schnitzer, "That ship's a lot tougher than she looks."

Marika guided the shuttle to where Das Boot was struck. Schnitzer was right. For all the flash and flare Das Boot suffered nothing more than a few black burns on the outer most layer of armour. Lighting continued to arc as the two ships carefully traversed the sea. As they pressed on the storm became more violent. Celestial winds tossed the ships. Astral hail battered their bodies and lighting and thunder boomed and crashed like the gods' wrath. The ship screamed and begged for her crew to turn her around.

"Shields are down again" said Schnitzer, "The hull is holding, but I don't know for how long."

"Das Boot is taking a beating too" said Hyakume.

"I see why they hid the ship here" said Misa, "Only the truly reckless would dare try. But I can't help but wonder how the Original Seven planned to recover the ship if they had a unanimous decision."

"Maybe the ones that didn't want to save it made it so it couldn't be," said Misa, "Hans we should turn around. We can't weather the storm any further."

"No. We keep going. Silent Night is close, I can feel it. Only a few thousand kilometers more, we're almost at the eye."

"Hans, she has a point," said Mary, "We're taking damage and –"

"WE PRESS ON!"

"Fine have it your way" Mary conceded, "But if we keep going we're going to end up as space dust."

"Is Gruier safe?"

"She's fine, Marika. No harm has come to her" Mary reassured.

The rest of the voyage was filled with deafening silence which was only broken by the cracking of the hull and flashes of lightning. The eye of the storm was strangely calm compared to the swirling melee of the nebula. The quasar belched and hurled into the abyss. Light blinded the crews as they approached. The visor dimmed and Marika's eyes adjusted.

"There's nothing here" said Misa.

"It must've been torn apart by the quasar" said Schnitzer, "It would be nothing short of amazing for it to survive this close for one hundred years."

"All this way for nothing" said Marika, "Hans, it's not here. Stand down and return Gruier. We'll do everything we can to help you with the Pinkertons, I promise."

"It's here. It's here" Hans repeated, "It has to be. There's no other way. Silent Night is here!"

Marika spoke softly, "Hyakume, could the ship be somewhere else? Like on the other side of the nebula?"

"Maybe, but it could take ages to find it in that soup" he replied, "Honestly, I think Schnitzer had it right."

"We need to move carefully" said Misa.

Das Boot powered up its engines and started a methodical, yet frustrated search pattern. Marika's shuttle held their ground, patiently waiting for the crew to come up with a plan. As they discussed, Marika peered out to the quasar. Its violent, turbulent fury was had a strange ethereal beauty that mesmerized her. Its beautiful light created shimmers against the black velvet of space.

"Hans, fire your cannons dead ahead" ordered Marika.

"What the hell? Why?"

"I think I've found the ship" she said.

Hans was initially reluctant, but desperate to find the ship he would do anything. Das Boot unleashed a long chain of shots straight forward. The laser bolts were expected to fly harmlessly toward the quasar and fly haplessly until one unfortunate soul got in the way. The bolts crashed into a thick armored hull. A massive ship appeared from nothing as if a curtain had been pulled up to reveal the stage. The vessel was much larger than they had expected.

"What the hell was that" shouted Mary?

"I have no idea" said Hans, "Damn thing didn't show up on our sensors, hell it still isn't showing up. But how did it turn invisible?"

"I never thought I'd get to see a cloak," said Hyakume, "The amount of energy needed to refract that much light must be massive."

"A cloaking device" said Misa, "But no one has been able to perfect that technology."

"Clearly the empire had" said Marika, "But since the ship went rogue I'm guessing they lost the only prototype they made."

The main body was several kilometers long and shaped like a leaf arrowhead. Two large hangars, large enough to hold a small freighter or a corvette, peeked from the top and bottom of the hull. Standard weapons such as fusion cannons, missile and torpedo tubes were embedded in the armour to preserve the sleek and smooth shape of the ship. Though they were few and far between. There didn't appear to be any point defense systems either. But it didn't matter. The infamous thalaron cannons were not hidden however. Six pairs of large turrets of four cannons were prominently displayed and were strategically placed on the fore, mid, and aft sections creating no blind spots. Scars of battle scorched the hull and drove deep into the ship. The damage must've been minimal since the cloaking system was operational.

"It must've been one hell of a boarding action" said Schnitzer.

"We'll head in through the top hangar" said Hans.

"Roger."

"See you in a few minutes, Marika" said Mary.

The two ships sped toward the hangar. The shuttle took its time, cutting the engines and using every thruster to come to a calm and controlled landing. Das Boot landed hard, skidding several meters before coming to a complete stop. Marika cringed as she thought of Gruier being tossed around during the landing.

"What's the plan, captain?" asked Misa.

"We could take their ship" said Schnitzer.

"Don't forget, this is still a hostage situation" said Misa, "If we move against them now, they might kill the princess."

"Agreed," said Marika, "The situation is still very much in their favor. Let's go, Hans won't want to be kept waiting."

The cargo ramp opened and Mary and Hans stepped out with oxygen masks on.

"There's gravity" said Mary, "Must mean that all the systems are still intact."

"Where's Gruier?" Marika demanded, "If any harm has come to her –"

"She's on board with Orvar" said Hans threateningly, "If you don't want her harmed, stay off my ship and don't try anything funny. Let's find the cargo bay and get everything out of here."

The door out of the hangar was sealed shut. Hyakume utilized the various instruments he brought.

"There's oxygen, nitrogen, and other gases. Life support is still working. Amazing, the ship seems to be in near perfect condition."

"Could the ship have drones like Geist that keep it operational?" asked Misa.

"Perhaps, maybe it's semi-automated" said Hyakume.

The hangar door slowly closed at Hyakume's digital commands. Once it was completely sealed and safe, the door to the corridors opened. The halls were spotted with blaster burns and sabre slashes. A few small drones scurried about the floor desperately trying to clean the mess but had no success. The halls were a pristine, porcelain white, with red and black accents along the edges. A few imperial insignia were etched into the surfaces but they were defaced and vandalized; replaced with a new insignia a black eagle between two horizontal black stripes on a field of white. With each step the ship turned on and off sections of lights along the hall.

"Highly automated" said Hyakume, "I wonder how large the crew was?"

"Cargo bay is this way" said Hans with a single purpose.

Mary pulled Marika aside by putting them further and further behind the group.

"Hey Marika, you alright?" asked Mary.

"What do you think?"

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry it happened this way. But we didn't know how you would react. We honestly hoped that we could get this done without anyone finding out. No harm no foul, you know?"

"We've been through a lot, right? We would have done our best to help you. Rogue pirate or not."

"We didn't know that. When you live the life we've chosen, everyone will stab you in the back sooner or later."

"So you stabbed us before we could you."

"Reluctantly. Very reluctantly. There's nothing I can say to make it better, is there?"

Marika tried to change the subject to something more beneficial to her, "Gruier –"

"She's fine" said Mary immediately becoming defensive, "Orvar won't touch a hair on her head unless something goes wrong."

"Uh-huh. And how do I know she isn't already dead?"

Mary stopped in her tracks, "Hans would never–"

"Hans killed the man who held you prisoner for his vengeance. Hans shot Claude as he tried to get on Das Boot to escape the mines. He killed Cypher after he got the piece," recalled Marika aloud, "His track record isn't exactly spotless."

"Hans also took my mother home, and let me stay with him. If we waited for Claude, as you wanted, we would have been boarded by the other pirates and killed. And Cypher was notoriously devious, we couldn't trust him," said Mary, "But if that won't do it. Then know this: I won't let it happen. I swear it."

"Sorry, but your word doesn't exactly have value with me."

Mary stared sadly at the floor before running ahead.

The entrance to the cargo bay had suffered the most damage. Blaster marks and sabre slashes were the least of the worries. Massive power conduits hung from the ceiling, metal girders and shrapnel protruded from the shattered floor. The door was partially melted but appeared to be functional.

Hans pressed the console, "Open sesame!"

The cargo bay door started to creek open and strain against the partially welded sections of the door. Suddenly the door cranked and scraped to a halt. The opening was barely enough to squeeze a hand through. Beyond the door was the Promised Land, a room filled to the brim with cargo from across the galaxy. Artefacts from Serenity, jewelry and treasures from the wealthy, spices and wines from the galactic core, raw goods from the frontier, and heavy goods from the Platinum Planets, all sorts of valuables plundered from the Golden Age of Piracy teased and taunted Hans as he peered into the room.

"Scheisse!" he cursed, "You, big one, force the door open!"

Reluctantly Schnitzer put his weapon on the ground and tried to pull the door open. The cybernetically enhanced, muscle bound monster crumpled the door with his deathly grip. Schnitzer pulled as hard as possible but the door refused to budge. He nodded to signal that he needed a hand. Hyakume took a position but Hans refused to budge. With a little prodding, Hans took his position as well, but only after Mary pointed her pistol at Marika.

"On my count of three" said Schnitzer.

"Wait," said Hyakume, "Do we pull once you say three or after you say three?"

"Hmm?"

"You know like this: THREE! or three… pull!"

"I can't tell the difference."

"Mein gott!" said Hans, "Heave!"

They all pulled as hard as they could but the door still refused to oblige.

"Scheisse! I swear to gott! I'll blast the damn door open!" yelled Hans waving his gun around.

"Hold it, Fumbles" said Misa brandishing her weapon, "Let's not do something stupid."

"Now, let's all take a breath" said Mary, "What's another option."

"Explosives" said Schnitzer.

"But the cargo" protested Hans.

"A small controlled blast could force the door and keep everything intact."

"Sounds like a quick and easy solution" said Mary, "You think there's still some weapons on this ship?"

"Probably," said Marika, "Let's head up to the bridge. We can get a clear image of the ship from damages and hull breaches, to system statuses. For all we know it could just need an override."

"Let's stop wasting time then" said Hans.

"Orvar" said Mary over her suits radio, "We're headed up to the bridge. All is good for now."

The long walk to the bridge was a silent one. Hans gripped his pistol angrily as he grumbled and cursed beneath his breath. The tension was thick. Any sudden move could force the furious captain into a rage of blaster fire. No matter the result, if that occurred, Gruier would die.

"Get that door open" Marika ordered Hyakume.

The specialist kneeled at the console and connected his device. Hyakume quickly unlocked the door, but spent several minutes making sure all was safe.

"No droids, atmosphere and gravity check out" he reported, "Alright, we're good to go."

The bridge was crude compared to Imperial vessels. The bridge was completely circular. In the center of the room was a diamond shaped table that holographically created the immediate battle space. Behind the table was a large glass plane that displayed radar information and the movements of ships in other sectors. Above the central table hung several monitors giving real time data of all the ships' systems, damages, casualties, and anything else the deemed relevant for the commanders' eyes. Surrounding the two displays were all the necessary stations. Each station was a long console and an alcove of displays. A few had seats, but many required the crewman to stand. There was no place for the captain or second in command to sit.

"Status report," said a male mechanical monotone voice, "All systems functioning. Minor damage to weapons, engines, sensors, communications, and science systems. All subsystems operational, any damage is superficial. Hull breaches in sections…"

The computer continued to list all damages, statuses, and conducted a roll call of all casualties. Upon completion, it dutifully began to recount events since its last activation over 100 years ago.

"I wish he would shut up" said Mary.

"You and I, both" said Misa.

"Recount of logs ceased."

"Okay…"

"So can anyone assume command?" wondered Hans aloud.

"Computer," began Marika, "Who is the current commander?"

"Current commander is deceased" said the system.

"No commander" muttered Hans.

"Last commands issued by the following…"

The computed listed the names of the Original Seven captains.

"Silent Night has been ordered to maintain its systems and orbit. Use of FTL drive, and weapons is prohibited until unlocked by Original Seven."

Hans walked to each console pressing buttons, "One of these has to open the doors, dammit!"

"Computer, can you open the cargo bay doors?" asked Marika.

"Affirmative. Error, cargo bay doors have suffered damage. Deploying maintenance drones to correct. Estimated time of repair, thirty minutes."

"Orvar, make your way to the cargo bay" said Hans, "Start loading everything you can. What? The princess? Send her up here. It'll be fine. She's a smart girl, just point her our way."

"Sudden change of heart?" asked Marika.

"It's just business" said Hans examining the console, "You're free to leave. Go meet the princess, take your share and go."

"Right," Mary holstered her gun, "Let's go Marika, our jobs finally done."

"Hold it Mary, we're staying here," said Hans with a cold, stone hard look, "The rest of you, get off my ship."

"Your ship?" said Misa.

"Access codes acknowledged," said the computer, "Original Seven verification complete. Transfer of command affirmed and complete. Captain Hans Schafspelz, the crew is awaiting your first address and orders."

"What did you do, Hans?" demanded Marika drawing her sword.

"Easy, girlie" said Hans pointing his pistol, "Silent Night is mine now and soon, all that I owe will be paid in full with interest. Now, please, leave my ship."

"Hyakume, do it" ordered Marika.

"Right away" Hyakume activated several commands on his portable console, "Yotof, you –"

Mary kicked away the console and pressed the pistol to his head, "Now what are you doing there?"

"Bentanmaru, do you read? Your last message was cut short" said Yotof though a static filled screen, "The fleet is in position. You need to boost the signal, we can't get a lock."

"So you wanted to screw us over too" said Hans fuming.

"No. We just wanted to destroy Silent Night" said Marika, "It's too dangerous to let anyone have."

"Marika…" began Mary.

"Hans, you're outnumbered, outgunned, and surrounded!" declared Marika theatrically, "Surrender! And we'll let you leave with all the treasure you want."

"Captain Kato, what is happening? Is the princess alright?" asked Yotof from the screen.

"Stay on standby, Yotof. I have everything under my control."

Hans fired a single shot at Marika's feet, "Do you think this is another of your damn shows?"

"Of course not" she said harshly, "But if you don't surrender, all I have to do is send a signal and the entire Serenity Fleet will open fire on us, sinking the ship. And us with it."

"Mary will shoot you before you even get close to that portable console you brought" said Hans.

"I –" stammered Mary.

"I don't need the console" Marika squeezed the Boatswain's Call between her lips, "All I need to do is blow this whistle."

"Shit!" said Mary, "I thought we took that off her."

"Easy" said Schnitzer, "One more step and I blow your head off."

"Schnitzer," said Hyakume nervously, "Don't anger the lady with the gun pointed at _my_ head please."

"We've got a bit of a standoff, don't we" said Hans.

"My offer still stands" said Marika, "And it's pretty generous if I do say myself."

"How about you listen to my deal then" he replied, "Silent Night remains under my command, but in exchange, we'll become part of the Serenity Royal Navy or whatever the hell you want. I keep the ship, and the treasure and you can rest easy that this ship will never be used for evil."

"And with your friend the princess, that is almost a guarantee" added Mary.

"Almost is not good enough," said Marika, "The biggest part of this deal is trust. So how can I trust you?"

"What is trust but a leap of faith" said Hans, "Come on, take the leap."

"No" Marika inhaled deeply.

"Marika!"

Gruier ran into the room. Mary's eyes darted to the princess. In the moment of distraction Hyakume slapped the gun away and darted to the far side of the room. Hans loosed a shot creating sparks at Hyakume's feet. Schnitzer whirled around and unloaded a hail of fire. Amid the storm of bullets, everyone dove for cover, bolting in every which direction. Marika instinctively sprinted toward Gruier and tackled her behind one of the consoles. Mary gave chase firing as she went. Hans ducked behind cover and blindly fired in every direction. Bolts and bullets fired and sparked everywhere. In the midst of the chaos it was impossible to tell who was shooting at who.

"You two alright?" asked Mary contradicting her words by brandishing her pistol.

Consoles and screens burst as they were struck and metal began to melt under the unending fire.

"Jesus!" shouted Mary, "Stop shooting for a god damn minute!"

"Gruier, stay behind me" said Marika pointing her sword at Mary.

"I don't want to hurt you" said Mary putting her gun away, "See? Now let's cut a real deal."

"What are you thinking" said Marika lowering her sword under as shot flew overhead.

Mary ducked, "We need to stop the firing first. Otherwise we'll all end up dead."

"Cease fire!" ordered Marika, "Everyone! Stop!"

The shooting started to die down and within the minute the bullets stopped firing. Gingerly everyone started to poke their heads out from cover but as soon as they caught a glance of their foe the head ducked away.

"There, now we can talk" said Mary softly.

"Mary! You capture the princess?" shouted Hans, "How about the girl pirate? You get her too?"

"Shit."

Mary's pistol scraped against the leather holster. Marika lunged forward narrowly missing Mary. Gruier joined the desperate attack and grabbed Mary's arm. The princess pulled and wrestled with the rogue pirate. The princess bit into Mary's hand making her shout and curse and drop her gun. In the scuffle Mary pushed Gruier away and out of cover.

Hans leaped into action making a mad dash to take the princess hostage once more. Gruier scrambled to get to her feet. Hans reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Hold it!"

Marika stood up dragging Mary up with her. The young captain pressed the sharp blade against Mary's neck. Mary sheepishly held her hands out to the side with her palms open.

"Don't you dare harm her!" shouted Hans.

"Let Gruier go" Marika pressed the blade into Mary's flesh, "Now!"

"Okay" said Hans releasing the princess but keeping his gun pointed at Marika.

"Put your gun down."

Hans complied and knelt to place his gun on the ground. There he remained, hands out to the side trying to avoid offending the furious captain.

"I tried being nice" said Marika frustrated and furious, "Now here's the deal. You are coming with us, and you'll face whatever punishment the law deems."

"That's the death penalty most like," said Hans.

"For you" said Marika, "Mary, Orvar, Tina, they will get time in prison. But I'll try to pull a few strings and make it so they can stay as part of my crew."

"Interesting, but still not ideal" said Hans, "Why would I make that deal?"

"If you don't, I'll kill her."

Everyone's eyes widened and fixed in surprised terror at Marika. Mary let out a resigned breath and closed her eyes as she waited for the blade to bite.

"That's real cold, captain" said Hans.

"Don't threaten unless you will follow though. Those were your words, Hans. And I swear to God, I will follow though."

Hans met Marika's eyes, "I believe you."

BANG!

A red flash streaked through the air. Mary eyes widened in shock and terror before her legs gave way and let her fall to the ground. Blood gushed from a large wound in her belly. She coughed up blood as she tried to express the thousands of thoughts that ran though her mind, but only gurgled blood and spit came out.

"You're out of bargaining chips" said Hans, "Now get off my ship."

"You're coming with us" said Marika.

"Over my dead –"

TWEET!

"Signal received" said Yotof, "Commence firing!"

"You don't have much time until the shots start to land" said Marika, "It's decision time. Come with us or die here."

"No!" Hans dropped his weapons and ran for the helm, "No, no, no! Computer set a course out of the nebula. Full speed ahead."

"Course set, engines to full. Addendum: Impulse engine maximum is currently 50%."

"Just do it!"

"Everyone, let's get back to the shuttle" said Misa.

"Schnitzer, grab Mary" ordered Marika.

Schnitzer lifted Mary effortlessly, "Roger that."

Hyakume grabbed his console, "What about Hans."

Hans was frantically running from station to station desperately trying to save the ghost ship from its final act. He was unarmed and oblivious to the world around him. Hans was completely focused on saving the ship. He didn't even care if a bullet buried itself into his back while he ran from point to point.

"He's as good as dead" said Marika, "And we will be too if we stay here any longer."

"This way!" said Gruier leading the way.

The crew sprinted down the hall. Mary's eyes fluttered open and close. With what little strength she could muster she put pressure on her wound.

"How is she doing, Misa?" asked Marika.

"Not well, she needs medical attention ASAP."

The ship started to shake and rumble as the first volley struck. If everything was going as planned the first barrage was made of lasers and fusion beams in order to shatter the shields. Damage was superficial but soon the real storm would come. Missiles and ordnance and plasma would follow soon after. Suddenly time seemed to slow down. The hall elongated and warped. A thunderous sound boomed from every inch of the ship. Marika and the others fell were tossed back as the ship spontaneously sped ahead. Immediately after being hurled they were thrown forward and crashed into the ground.

"What happened?" asked Marika.

"That was an FTL jump" said Hyakume.

"Okay, so where did we end up?"

The hall was bathed in red light as alarms screamed and hollered.

"All crew to battle stations" said the computer, "Hostile forces in the battle space. Bentenmaru identified along with twenty other ships. Classes unknown, but transponder data indicates…"

"We're just outside the quasar storm" said Marika, "We better hustle! Go! Go! Go!"

The crew bolted down the hall. The ship began to sustain more damage as the battle was now in the immediate area and the shroud of the nebula had been lost. Metal panels flew from the walls and crashed around them. Power conduits fell from above like jungle vines and sparked and arced with power.

"What is going on?" shouted Orvar hauling a large crate.

"The ship is getting bombarded" said Marika, "We're getting off."

"Where is Hans?"

"Left behind" said Mary weakly.

"What happened to Mary?" Orvar drew his weapons.

"Hans" said Mary, "Shot."

Another barrage hit Silent Night. The ship rocked violently.

"Give her to me" said the oaf, "And let's get off the ship. Orvar has no wish to die."

The hangar was in rough shape. Shrapnel and metal were strewn all over the floor. A massive metal slab had crashed into the shuttle and created a large dent, but she was still serviceable.

"Get on the shuttle!" ordered Marika, "Mary, how you doing?"

"She's bleeding out," said Misa.

"We don't have the time to prime the engines" said Hyakume.

"And there aren't any medical supplies either" said Misa, "Mary won't last unless I can stabilize her condition."

"Holy hell, you made it just in time" hollered Tina from the cargo ramp, "I was just about to ditch you lot."

Das Boot's engines were primed and hot. The ship was screaming like a banshee and was eager to escape the death trap hangar. Marika immediately directed everyone onto Das Boot. Orvar, with Mary in his arms, and Misa ran toward the infirmary with its limited supplies and hoped it would be enough. Hyakume and Marika ran toward the cockpit and fired up every single system.

"Tina, get that jammer running" said Marika over the intercom, "I don't want to get shot as we leave."

"Roger!"

"This is Gruier Serenity" announced the Princess, "Do not target Das Boot, we are aboard. There, that should solve any firing issues."

"Tina, put everything into the engines!" ordered Marika as she piloted Das Boot.

"I'm getting massive energy readings from Silent Night" reported Hyakume, "Woah!"

A barrage of fusion and laser fire was unleashed from the many weapons of the ancient ship. The lasers and beams splashed against the shields and bore through the hulls. The Bentenmaru bore the brunt of the attack but stood firm. The fleet returned fire. Though the ship was large and cumbersome, Hans was an exceptional pilot able to maneuver the ship like it was Das Boot herself. Silent Night took several hits but continued to fight. Silent Night fired another volley heavily damaging a couple of the small ships.

Das Boot weaved through the storm of fire and fury as the fight continued.

"Incoming warp signatures" said Hyakume, "Rogue pirates!"

A sporadic and chaotic stream of ships began to enter the system. Many were small, no larger than a destroyer, but a few cruisers entered as well. Without hesitation or care of the threat the Serenity Fleet posed, the rogue pirates opened fire. Small ballistic missiles soared through space. Pitiful pulse lasers peppered the hulls of the fleet. The larger cruisers fired with their massive cannons to devastating effect against the weakened ships.

Communications chatter flared up and became a cacophonous storm of shouts and screams. The Serenity Fleet panicked and broke formation to attack the new threat. The rogue pirates screamed at each other as they argued to who would take the prize.

"Chiaki, you're up!" ordered Marika.

"Understood."

Another fleet came into the system. Five Letter of Marque pirate ships, led by the Barbaroosa, appeared with weapons blazing. The organized legal pirates quickly began dispatching the rogues. The three fleets continued to exchange fire. Hull breaches spewed fire as missiles shattered the armour. Lasers shattered shields and melted through metal. A red beam surged from the rogue cruiser and tore through the bridge of a Serenity destroyer. The ship spun out of control forcing its comrades to quickly dodge in a panic.

"Marika, we have this under control" said Chiaki, "Focus on Silent Night."

"Roger. Bentenmaru, we're coming in fast and hot."

"Negative, captain" said Kane, "There's no way we can land you in this chaos. You'll have to –"

"She's gone!"

Marika poured over the sensor screen. Only the three fleets were visible. Marika peered out through the windows, scanning every inch she could. Silent Night was nowhere to be seen.

"He cloaked" said Schnitzer, "Is he jumping?"

"Using a cloak and FTL would use too much power" said Hyakume, "Maybe he's buying time to repair."

"With an automated system?" said Marika, "That would take ages. What are you planning?"

"Massive energy spike!" shouted Hyakume.

Silent Night appeared from the blackness within point blank range of a cruiser. A torrent of sickly, pale green beams vomited from Silent Night's turrets. The beams narrowly crashed into a pirate cruiser. The shields shimmered and flickered, but refused to fall. It didn't matter. The beams pierced through without shattering the forcefield. The armour stayed cool and hard. Within the minute however the ship was adrift.

"No life signs. That must have been the thalaron beam." said Hyakume, "She's cloaked again. I can't see her."

"How many?"

"A ship that size would have had a crew of –"

"Energy spike, she's back!"

Silent Night appeared again directly in the centre of the Serenity formation. The turrets fired in pairs. The green deathly beams struck unopposed. The formation was thrown into further chaos as three ships became ghosts in the endless sea. Those that remained mustered their courage and rage. Their batteries swiveled, computers resolved targeting vectors, the shouts of the captains rang out through the silence. Silent Night's image waved like the air in the boiling desert.

"She's gone again! God damn it!"

The barrage passed through the space harmlessly. Silent Night continued to appear and disappear around the fleet. Without direction and in desperation the fleet got closer and closer together. Their weapons scanned the skies like panicked, frightened eyes. Hans struck without mercy. Fusion and laser blasts severely damaged the hulls, thalaron radiation killed the crew. The great battleships tried to dodge the ambushes but their lumbering and heavy hulls couldn't move fast enough. And with every strike, every skirmish, every bug bite the fleet retaliated with all her fury. But Silent Night smirked as she disappeared unscratched.

"All ships, open fire in every direction! We'll flush him out!" ordered the Serenity Commander.

"Commander, cease this recklessness" ordered Gruier.

"This is ridiculous" said a frustrated Hyakume.

_Hans is fighting as if he were still on Das Boot._

"Orders, captain" said Schnitzer.

_The thalaron beams are up and running, the cloak is operational too. Larger ships won't be able to dodge it in time._

"Get on the guns!" she ordered, "We'll taking on Silent Night ourselves."

"Orvar take the ventral gun" said Schnitzer as he struggled through the tight corridors.

"All ships, this is Captain Marika Kato," she said commandingly, "Disengage, cease that stupid firing, and spread yourselves out. Retreat if you must."

"What about the rogue pirates?" asked Chiaki.

"Silent Night will have to deal with them also, but we don't stand a chance if he can blast us at point blank with those thalaron cannons" said Marika, "I want a large sensor net created between all ships. Silent Night gives off a large energy reading before it de-cloaks and attacks. Report any energy spikes and target that location."

"Understood!" they said in unison.

The fleet immediately began to disperse. Stretching the formation to the maximum reaches of their sensor nets. The rogue pirates thought they saw a brilliant opportunity as each ship began to isolate itself. The pirates drove toward the farthest extent of the group. Marika could feel the Kenjo Kurihara smirking.

"Take a few steps back everyone" he said over the comms.

The Barbaroosa turned to face its attacker. The little pirate fired its poultry weapons. The small ordnance turned to dust against the weakened shields, the blaster fire splashed like waves against the bow. The rogue was determined and closed the distance rapidly. The Barbaroosa held firm.

"Fire!"

The forward batteries of fired in unison. There was no contest. Every single attack punched through the shields as if it was made of paper. Armour buckled under the assault. The small ship cracked in half before turning into a bright fireball. Burning shrapnel and parts streaked like shooting stars and ricocheted off the shields. The remaining rogue pirates scattered to the winds. Their FTLs spooled and screamed as they fled with their tails between their legs.

The sea went silent as the night. Eyes fixed on sensors as they awaited in inevitable strike. No one dared to speak. Marika floated toward the infirmary while there was still a lull. The infirmary was a horrendous mess. Gauss, bandages, surgical tools, and bottles of medicine floated around the room. Mary was strapped down into the cot. Her shirt was lifted just below the breasts revealing the layers of bandages that wrapped around her. Misa's hands were drenched with blood, and her white coat had been splattered.

"How is she?"

"She'll live. We got to her just in time," said Misa, "I managed to repair most of the damage to her stomach and intestines. The internal bleeding as stopped, and the wound has been sealed and disinfected. Everything they had here was very basic. I want to take her back to the Bentenmaru and treat her there just to be one hundred percent sure."

"When will she regain consciousness?"

"Immediately after the sedative wears off" said Misa, "I couldn't have her thrashing about as I worked inside her."

"Clever Hans" sighed Mary in her deep sleep.

"I wonder what she's dreaming about" said Misa.

"Energy readings off the port bow!"

Misa jumped over Mary to keep her from being thrown about in the battle. Marika sped to the cockpit as fast as she could. Das Boot swerved violently and threw Marika against every wall. A massive battleship was bathed in thalaron beams as Silent Night struck like the great white shark.

"Fire!" ordered Marika.

"Marika, we don't have a targeting resolution" said Chiaki.

Schnitzer and Orvar unleashed a river of red laser bolts. The bug bites found their home in the aft hull of Silent Night. The ghost ship shrugged off the attack and faded away.

"We can't fight him like this" said Kenjo, "We can detect him without a problem when he decloaks but our computers can't get a targeting solution before he finishes."

"Do we retreat?" asked Gruier.

"If we retreat, we'll never get another chance" said Chiaki.

"I can't help wondering why he hasn't jumped" said Marika, "He's had every opportunity to escape, but he's stayed to attack us."

"It might be the power constraints" said Hyakume, "Between the cloak, and thalaron cannons, spooling the FTL drive would be too exhaustive. He'd be dead in the water if he tried to fire all three systems."

"Or just the two" said Marika, "That's why he's had to decloak when attacking."

"I'm sensing an idea" said Gruier.

"Are any of those ships equipped with ionic electronic warfare systems?" asked Marika.

"A few, what kind of systems?"

"Every ship can hack, captain" said Hyakume.

"I need ships that can emit large amounts of EMP or create ion blasts."

"We have several ships equipped with ion bombs" said Yotof finally chiming in, "Would that suffice?"

"Have those ships report in" Marika waited for the beeps, "Okay, listen, Silent Night has a very limited power supply making it vulnerable to electronic attack. Spread out into these sectors. Lighter ships get close and protect them. Battleships, including the Bentenmaru and Barbaroosa, move yourselves here."

"We're going to be kind of alone out there, captain" said Kane.

"Exactly, we'll lure him out," said Marika, "I will assign a targeting area for each group to cover you once he appears."

"And how exactly can we do that?" asked Kenjo.

"Captains, prepare ion bombs. Coorie, Luca create a solution that maximizes the area of effect of the bombs."

"Can do, captain" said Coorie.

"Everyone get into position."

"What about us?" asked Schnitzer.

"We're going to sink Das Boot."

Marika steered the freighter through the loose formation, covering every inch of the sea like a fine tooth comb. The combined fleet quickly sped into their sectors fearing the sudden strike by the unseen foe. Silent Night hid beneath the waves, lurking like the shark. The bait had been cast and the waiting game had begun.

"All ships are in position."

"Fire!" ordered Marika.

The handful of ships hurled their bombs into the empty spaces. The bombs shone a blinding blue before exploding. Lightning arced across the black sky creating a haze of charged electrons. The blue, dustlick cloud expanded in every direction as an astonishing pace.

"Full power to shields" the Marika ordered calmly.

The expanding wave washed over the fleet like an ocean spray. Their shields shimmered like gems in the sea. A few of the weakened ships suffered from the sudden shower of ions. Their main systems stuttered and stammered as power fluctuated.

"There he is" said Marika.

Silent Night appeared as an ethereal form beneath the Barbaroosa. The ghostly ship emerge from beneath the waves, its cannons primed and targeted. Marika could feel everyone hold their breath.

"Th- there's no energy reading" said Hyakume, "The ion bombs messed with her systems!"

"How long to recovery?" asked Schnitzer.

"Doesn't matter" Marika shouted at the top of her lungs, "Fire everything!"

The first volley came from the ships with a pre-set targeting area. The flurry of lasers scattered around the ship. Missiles and bombs surged toward it leaving trails of smoke and fire. The barrage missed fantastically, but a few managed to find a home deep in the armour of the ship. Soon the others of the fleet engaged the target with full solutions. The assault was spectacular. Fusion and laser beam melted through the hull and into the cannon casings of Silent Night. Explosions ripped the outer shell sending metal and shrapnel soaring into the abyss.

The Barbaroosa sped away as quickly as she could from the barrage and the deadly counter from Silent Night. Hans fired haphazardly all around him. The lethal beams scattered around the battle space missing every target though several crews were frightened enough to suddenly turn tail. Silent Night powered engines to full and began a hasty retreat.

"Damn she's fast" said Kane, "Don't let her get away."

"It's our turn now" said Marika, "Tina, full power to the engines, drop the jammer if you have to."

Das Boot closed rapidly. Silent Night noticed the attacking craft and turned the thalaron turrets to engage. Das Boot veered to the side as the cannons fired. The green beams created a large arc as it traced the flight path of the little ship.

"Just as I thought. We're too fast for him to track with the turrets" said Marika, "We have him now."

"Don't get cocky, captain" said Hyakume, "It's not over yet."

"Target all weapons here" said Marika, "Fire!"

Das Boot got right up against the ship, nearly scraping the two hulls together. The lasers melted a gaping hole into the dorsal hull of Silent Night. The damage was a deep hull breach but barely enough to do anything crippling to the hulking ship. Marika slammed the console firing every single available missile from the silos. The warheads buzzed around the ship unchallenged by flak or fire. One by one the warheads dove into the breach and shredded the armour. The breach grew deeper and deeper and the ship still chugged along.

"Hans, this is your last chance" said Marika, "Stand down."

There was no response.

"Torpedo loaded" said Orvar.

"Fire."

The slow, methodical torpedo surfed to the target. Schnitzer and Orvar continued to pour on the fire power as Silent Night gave its death throws. Thalaron beams scattered in every direction without purpose. The torpedo slipped into the breach. A massive explosion rocked the ship. Every crevice and window near the explosion flashed with a blinding orange light. Plasma and clouds of fuel ignited and surrounded trailed behind the ship.

"Massive energy spikes" reported Hyakume, "We have to get out of here captain. She's going to suffer an engine core rupture!"

"All ships disengage and fallback to a safe distance" ordered Marika as she quickly forced the ship about.

"Thirty seconds" said Hyakume, "Ten… nine… eight… seven…"

Silent Night lost control and began to tumble. She vented every plasma in a desperate attempt to prevent her destruction. The plasma created a shroud around the ship, like a burial sheet.

"Five… four… three… two…"

The main fleet had made their way safely out of range, but Das Boot lagged behind.

"One."

Silent Night exploded in a brilliant cloud of blue-green plasma. Lightning arced through the shroud and ignited the plasma. The ignition created a swirling ball of expanding gas like a micro star. Das Boot surged ahead with all her might as the flames licked her engines. The fire engulfed the little ship and began to enclose around the cockpit. Even through the protective glass the light was blinding. Marika squinted as she flew the freighter.

SWOOSH!

Das Boot soared like a phoenix from the fire ball. The entire ship erupted into cheers as they escaped. The fireball began to die, sending small tongues of flame into the far reaches of oblivion. All that remained of Silent Night, the ancient menace, was a smoking cloud and smoldering metal.

_One hundred years, and it's finally over._


	19. Chapter 18

The Serenity fleet had completed the necessary repairs and was preparing to depart. The smoldering shrapnel that remained of Silent Night had long cooled and was nothing more than a fading memory in the black sky.

"Well that was quite an adventure" said Gruier as she walked down the hall, "I wish I could have done more though."

"I really wish you'd stop stowing away" said Marika, "Didn't you see how dangerous my work is. And you're a princess to boot!"

"But being a princess is boring. A pirate's life is so much more fun."

"But it is also much shorter" said Orvar, "Farewell princess. I very much enjoyed the time with you."

"Yeah, you were great company" Gruier smiled sincerely.

"Uh, did I miss something?"

"While on Silent Night, Orvar and I spent the time playing gin rummy" said Gruier.

"We played with real gin" said Orvar.

"Griuer did you?" asked Marika with a mix of concern and anger.

"I drink her share" Orvar laughed, "Orvar drink many shares that night!"

"Princess, it is time to depart" said Yotof.

"Oh alright" Gruier groaned, "Farewell everyone."

After some very quick farewells Gruier soon disappeared beyond the airlock. Her royal shuttle gracefully detached and flew off toward its mother ship.

"Orvar shall depart also. Das Boot will wait for Mary's return."

The big oaf bowed graciously before lumbering toward Das Boot. Marika smiled as he left and made her way to sick bay. The Bentenmaru suffered heavily from the fighting. Her hull was scored with breaches and blast marks. A few of her crew had lost their lives, their bodies sucked out into the endless void. They were lucky that Silent Night didn't strike them with the thalaron cannons as it had done to several of the Serenity Fleet. And Geist from the golden age.

_Why didn't he hit us? He had every opportunity to do so._

"How is she?" asked Marika as she entered.

"I'm well thanks" said Mary, "And I'd like to leave, doc."

Mary was seated in one of the many beds. Her usual clothing had been replaced with a patient's loose fitting gown. Mary continued to barrage Misa with demands to let her out and return to Das Boot.

"Mary stop giving Misa trouble" Marika smiled, "You look good, all things considered."

"I feel fine too," said Mary, "See fit as a fiddle."

Mary tried to stand but the moment her stomach stretched she let out a painful yelp and collapsed back into the bed.

"If you keep doing that you'll reopen the wound and be bed ridden for another month" Misa slapped on a pair of gloves, "And I'll have to do some more surgery."

Misa's devilish smile and crimson eyes were a terrifying sight.

"I'll be good" whimpered Mary as she hid behind the blanket.

"That's good" smirked Misa.

"So sounds like you're stuck here for the long haul" said Marika taking a seat beside Mary.

"Yeah" sulked Mary.

"On the bright side, the food is still better" Marika smiled.

Mary chuckled, "Ow... don't make me laugh. Hey, did you get your half of the treasure?"

"Yup, Orvar and Schnitzer hauled it over a couple hours ago. It's a pretty good haul. So, what are you going to do with your share?"

"I have many wonderful ideas," Mary's smile ran away, "I wish Hans was here to spend it with me though."

"WHAT?!" Marika was shocked, "He tried to kill you."

Mary shook her head, "If he wanted to kill me he would've shot me in the head."

Marika came to a realization, "He knew I wouldn't leave you behind."

"Clever bastard, right?" Mary smirked, "I told you, he's always lookin' out for me."

"He slapped all his debts on to you though" said Marika, "We'll help you with them if you want."

Mary waved it off, "Don't worry about it. We got enough in the haul to pay it all off. It's a good thing Orvar was sent to grab it all."

Marika smirked, "Clever Hans."

"Got that right."

"So what's next for Captain Mary of Das Boot?"

"Well, I'm free to do whatever I want now, but I think it'll be the same old, same old. Just on my terms," Mary looked down to the floor, "And without the Old Man."

"You could always come with us. We'll be a little pirate fleet" suggested Marika, "The life Hans took you on wasn't exactly the ideal."

"That's a thought," said Mary, "But I'm going to say no to that."

"Why?"

Misa put her hand on Marika's shoulder, "There'll be plenty of time to discuss this later. For now, Mary needs her rest."

"You're no fun, doc" Mary got comfortable, "How's about a shanty to send me to the dreamy seas?"

Marika remembered a melancholic tune, "I thought I heard the Old Man say: Leave her Mary, leave her. For the voyage is done and the winds don't blow and it's time for you to leave her. Leave her Mary, leave her. Leave her, Mary, leave her. For the voyage is done and the winds don't blow and it's time for us to leave her."

Mary started to drift off as she responded in tune, "Old Das Boot is like her crew. And we cannot leave her. She's all worn out but still pulls through. And we shall never leave her."

As Mary drifted into sleep and Misa began to turn off the lights, Marika quietly departed and made her way to the bridge.

"Captain on the bridge" announced San-daime.

The crew stood to attention as Marika took her proper place. She scanned the room and beheld the loyal smiling faces of her crew. She crossed her legs and relaxed in her chair.

"All stations report."

"Communications a-okay!"

"Sheilds, weapons, and tactical are operational."

"Engines are functioning and the FTL is spooled."

"Navigation is awaiting a course."

"Helm ready to go" Kane smiled, "So, captain, where to?"

Marika tapped her foot and smirked, "Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning."

"Roger!"

The Bentenmaru turned to the east. The distant star shimmered and sparkled like a polished gemstone. The great engines sang loudly as they glowed brighter and brighter. A conduit tore open and drew the great ship in. The Bentenmaru stretched before snapping into shape and soaring forward like a shooting star.

_And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by._


	20. Epilogue

"First squad to engineering! Second squad on me!"

Heavily armed soldiers stormed down the halls with rifles at the ready. The damage was savage as they blitzed. Entire rooms had been torn open by explosions. Flammable liquids flowed dangerously close to open flames and sparking wires. Drones and droids were strewn across their path like corpses with arms and legs torn off. The sound of rushing feet was the only sound.

"Section 1 clear."

"Roger, the package is coming aboard."

The soldiers snapped to attention like they were on parade and waiting for inspection. Four figures walked onto the ship with an aura of undeniable authority.

The first was a short man dressed in full military regalia with many medals and ribbons strewn across the chest. Age had not treated him well. His eyes had dulled with cataracts but kept their unyielding steel quality. The many wrinkles on his loose skin blended into the many battle scars. A hairbrush moustache covered his cracked lips and liver spots covered his bald head.

"Don't stand here gawking! Secure the ship!"

"Sir, we've sent teams to engineering already and –"

BANG!

The soldier dropped to the ground with a large hole in his chest.

"Engineering" he muttered, "There are more sections to a ship than engineering! You! You're my new lieutenant. Don't screw up!"

"Sir, yes sir! Men, secure the entire vessel! Move, move move!"

"My dear General," said a female voice, "Surely you can spare the commissar antics this one time. Morale is not a resource we can squander freely."

She was a tall woman with porcelain skin and sapphire eyes. She dressed elegantly in a long flowing dress as black as ebony and shining like obsidian. White feathery plumes outlined the edges. A large, wide brimmed hat was accented by the feathers of many a peacock. Despite all the feathers and extravagance the stunning feature was her platinum hair; long and waving like the ocean waves.

"Dear delegates," she said in a cool voice, "Shall we proceed? Haste is a necessity, for this treasure shall not go unnoticed for long."

"Agreed" said a mechanical voice, "Bridge will provide the greatest chances of success. Analysing, expect heavy resistance. Recommendation: deployment of all squads to bridge, simultaneous entry upon our arrival."

The mechanical man was not a man at all. The bipedal, stainless steel automaton took heavy steps with his large feet. His arms were made of a flexible metal and his fingers were implements used to access, slice, and hack computers. He wore no clothing for such coverings would cloud the many sensors that covered his body. Protruding from his back were many small monitors and screen that it could summon and dismiss on a whim and display torrents of data that only he could understand. The three pairs of eyes scanned every inch of the ship as he made his way.

"We need not worry, comrades" said a fourth voice, "I have made it so that we shall be undisturbed until our task is complete. Soldiers, proceed methodically, cautiously, and most importantly leave no trace that you were here."

The door to the bridge was in perfect condition but sealed tightly. A specialist typed away on a console; trying to release the locking mechanisms. The General was impatient and threw the man aside. With a hard bark the Automaton kneeled beside the door.

"Issue is not software. All hardware connections severed, locking mechanisms not engage. Sheer mass prevents entry."

"Dear soldiers," said the Delegate, "Attend to your duties and open the door."

"Yes ma'am! You two, take positons and prepare to storm the bridge."

"That will not be necessary sergeant," said the Fourth, "Just open the door."

The squad of soldiers gripped the door. The sergeant counted to three. They mustered all their strength. The squad grunted and groaned and cursed and grumbled. The great door cracked open and scraped against the metal sides with a horrendous grinding shriek.

"After you General" said the Fourth.

"The cyborg should go first and fix the hardware problem."

"Unknown force beyond the door," it replied, "Recommend armed men go first."

"My dear delegates, I had never thought you could be so cowardly," said the Delegate strolling into the bridge, "Especially you my brave General."

"Well this is a surprise" said a voice beyond the door, "Hold it! Don't take another step. Now, who are you and what hell did you come from, angel?"

The Fourth stepped onto the bridge, "Ah, so it was you. I say, I wish a better captain would have found Silent Night, but beggars can't be choosers."

"It's you!"

"Indeed it is Hans Schafspelz."

"Men, secure the room!" ordered the General as he stormed in with pistol drawn.

The squad of soldiers stormed the room shouting at Hans to drop his weapon. Surrounded, outgunned, and nowhere to run, he complied. His hands rested on his head and he dropped to his knees.

"General, cease this ridiculous operation" ordered the Fourth.

The General immediately complied without hesitation.

"Stand up, Captain."

"Captain Schafspelz" said the Delegate, "Am I correct in assuming that you seized this ship on your own."

He didn't reply.

"Accessing data banks" said the Automaton, "Downloading schematics."

"My dear Captain, are you aware of what this ship is?"

"Ja."

"Then you must certainly realize –"

"Not until I get what is owed!"

"I am sorry my Captain, but I have no idea –"

"You!" Hans pointed to the Fourth, "You promised to double all the treasure which I recovered! I want what is owed! And I want you off my ship!"

The soldiers aimed their rifles.

"Your ship?" said the General, "This is our ship now, boy!"

"Computer, self-destruct" ordered Hans.

"Self-destruct activated. Self-destruct deactivated."

"Self-destruct protocols have been rewritten" said the Automaton, "Resuming download and search."

"Schisse."

"On my order –"

"Stand down, General. Good. Captain Schafspelz, it is my full intention to give you what I had promised, for I am a man of honor. However, to our mutual disappointment, the treasury of our organization is not sufficient to pay you out. That said, I have an offer if you are willing to listen."

Hans looked around the room and saw only gun barrels, "Alright, what do you have in mind?"

"Councillor, what are you plotting?" whispered the Delegate.

Fourth smiled devilishly, "I have the papers to wipe away all your problems. And with all that behind, you can do whatever you please be it plundering, smuggling, or perhaps walking the straight and narrow as a pirate."

"What's the catch" said Hans intrigued.

He said, "You work for us now."

"It's a Letter of Marque."

"A Letter of Marque" the Fourth scoffed, "I offer you something much better. Carte Blanche."

"Dear Councillor, you cannot be serious. Carte Blanche is to be reserved for those that will prove unwavering in our cause. Not for some scruffy rapscallion."

The Fourth whispered into the Delegates ear, "Plausible deniability. He is a rogue pirate, a smuggler and swashbuckler at the least. If he were to fall or worse, be caught our governments could easily dismiss it as the ramblings of a desperate man.

"I'm not scruffy looking" said Hans, "The hell is a Carte Blanche?"

"It is a document signed by ourselves here and authorized by our respective governments. It will grant you the ability to do what so ever you please on the seas of space. There will be no questions, no directives, no orders, nor consequences. It is a blank cheque. Our only hope is that what you sow, we can reap for our benefit."

"Why me?" asked Hans suspiciously.

"Automaton, have you finished your download?"

"Affirmative."

"Project how long it would take to create a fleet of Silent Nights that would be capable of challenging the 7th Fleet of the Empire."

"Approximate 5 years. Probability of discovery increases each year."

"With you, Captain, our project can be protected, and you will gain wealth on your own accord as you begin the campaign against the tyrannical empire."

"And if I plunder your ships?"

The Fourth shrugged, "Then God save their souls. We shall not stop you, such is the power of Carte Blanche. Of course, I would be remiss if I were not to ask you to spare our vessels."

"I would be an idiot to refuse" said Hans offering his hand, "You have a deal."

"You would be dead if you refused" chuckled the Fourth, "I am glad to declare our dealings at an end. Men! Begin the repairs, our Admiral needs the Silent Night in perfect condition."


End file.
